Forsaken Flames
by Violet Fox
Summary: A highly skilled hunter, haunted by nightmares, embarks on a dangerous journey with her friends to stop an approaching horde army. They face many trials along the way, but what lies at the end of their travels will change their lives forever.
1. The Dream

**Forsaken Flames**

A World of Warcraft Fan-Fiction

**The Dream**

_An evil presence was about me, and there was an unbearable smell. It was dark and cold with a bit of a damp feeling in the air. It was silent, aside from an occasional squeak from what I could only guess were rats somewhere on the other side of the room. I sat on my knees, unable to move as my arms were chained to the wall behind me and my legs chained to the floor, and tried to peer through the darkness. Suddenly, a deep voice uttered a strange word in a language I could not understand, causing torches that were mounted along the walls to light themselves. The darkness was instantly banished and my eyes needed a moment to adjust. I could then see that the room was circular with walls made of stone and an iron door with bars over the window. Skulls and other bones littered the filth-covered floor, and a few fresh corpses lay atop a mound of hay. All of this was taken in within a moment, after which my eyes fell upon a figure standing in the middle of the room. He wore dark green robes, torn and tattered, and held a skull engulfed in green fire in his left hand. His right hand held a large staff, which was carved and decorated at the top so that a snake head held an emerald in its mouth. As he approached me, I noticed that his flesh was rotting and peeling from his bones. He had no eyes; two small yellow fires blazed forth from his otherwise empty sockets. The sight of him in the light terrified me, and I would have run off if my wrists had not been chained to the wall behind me. He drew his face close to mine and gazed into my eyes. The smell, as I then learned, was not coming from the corpses on the hay, but from him. I tried to turn away, but found that I was magically bound to stare. He spoke, breathing foul air into my face. "Tell me, or perish."_

I awoke at that point, sweating and finding it hard to breath. It was as if that skeleton of a man had tried to peer into my very soul. A chill breeze blew in from the window, which I had left cracked open. It was quite warm when I had opened it, as nights usually are in summer months, but a rain storm had come and changed that. I got up, closed the window, and stood watching the rain for a while. As I stared up at the storm clouds, I felt a big, furry creature rub up against my side. I looked down, though not far, and saw that it was my pet lion. He was a rather large animal, coming up to my chest when he was down upon all fours. His fur was completely white, and he had large front fangs like that of a saber tooth. He purred with a soft and gentle tone, which would surprise nearly anyone due to his size. I stroked his mane with my left hand and returned to staring out the window. The inn was silent aside from the sound of rain hitting the windows and an occasional roar of thunder. "I had that dream again, Kana."

The lion looked up at me with sorrowful eyes as I turned and kneeled to speak to him. He spoke within my mind, as all hunter's pets do. "Perhaps it is an omen, or a vision."

I spoke softly so as to not disturb anyone that might be in the room next to mine. "I hope not. In that situation, I'd be doomed."

"You are Shina, slayer of Horde! What challenge is too great for your might?" Kana puffed out his furry chest as he spoke.

I sighed heavily and continued. "Apparently whatever may have happened before the event in my dream."

"I'm not sure I understand." His eyes grew large as he peered into mine.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to lock gazes with the lion. "I was a prisoner in the dream, as you know, so I was either caught off guard or fell in battle."

I almost couldn't finish my sentence; I was on the verge of tears, scared for my life. What if it really was a vision of events to come? Would anyone come to rescue me? If so would they succeed? Countless thoughts of my torture and death flooded my mind. "I feel so stupid, fearing danger that isn't even guaranteed to come."

I sat down on the edge of the bed and Kana set his head down beside me. "Whatever may come, even the events in your nightmares, you shall be prepared for them and prevail as you always have." He lay down at my feet, still looking up at me. "Your wisdom shall guide you through any hindrance; In this I have faith."

He allowed his head to rest on his paws and closed his eyes. I gave his mane one last stroke, talking quietly to myself. "I hope you're right, Kana. More than I've ever hoped for anything else."

With that, I climbed back into bed and waited for sleep to return.


	2. Audience with the King

**Forsaken Flames**

A World of Warcraft Fan-Fiction

**Audience with the King**

Morning came, the light of the rising sun waking me from my slumber. Having had a terrible night's sleep due to more nightmares, I stared at the ceiling for a while before sitting up and looking around the room for Kana. He wasn't anywhere in sight, so I got out of bed and started a mobile search. A cat as large as he was doesn't have many choices for hiding places, so I checked the few spots in the room big enough for him to sneak into. The closet was empty, except for a few of my spare clothes, and the large chest resting at the foot of the bed was full of my potions and extra arrows. I tried to reach for him mentally, but was unable to find the link between our minds. It wasn't like Kana to up and leave without me, especially without keeping a mental link open in case of an emergency. The only explanation I had was that he had come upon some trouble. So, I began to clad myself in my armor, preparing for the battle that I thought was ahead of me.

I had gotten my chain mail pants and my undershirt on when someone knocked on the door. Setting the mail shirt I was holding down upon the bed, I answered it. What stood in the doorway was a Night Elf, the same race as I. His skin was of a light blue, and his hair a darker shade of the same color. He kept his hair long, his bangs tied back with a leather headband. A goatee rested on his chin and upper lip, trimmed and well-kept. Extremely long and pointed ears was the major trait of the Night Elves, as well as exaggeratedly long eyebrows that extended past the temples. Leather was the material of his clothes, double stitched and padded to absorb the shock of a knife stab. His weapons of choice were the dagger and the sword, both sheathed at his belt and ready for battle. I lifted my eyes to meet his gaze, as he was slightly taller than me, and shuddered at the sight of his eyes; Two small yellow fires blazed from his eye sockets. Images from the dream I had flashed through my mind, and I looked away. He put a hand on my shoulder and spoke with a gentle tone. "Are you alright? You seem troubled."

"I'm fine, Tekki." I looked down at the floor as I talked.

"You sure? I'm here for you if you need to talk."

"Yeah, I'm ok, but thanks. That means a lot to me." I lifted my gaze only slightly.

"Alright, but if you need me, just give me a ring." He tapped the side of his head with his forefinger as he finished speaking, letting me know that he understood my current plight with my dreams.

I gave a sigh and looked up at him, focusing on his mouth instead of his eyes. "Have you seen Kana?"

"He came downstairs and sat with me for a while."

"Oh, so you've been waiting on me?"

He nodded. "Yup, you almost ready?"

"I just have to finish putting my armor on and then we can leave."

"Ok then, I'll be downstairs with Kana." He turned as he spoke, gave a friendly salute and then headed down the stairs.

After he had left, I shut the door and continued getting dressed. Fully clad in chain mail, I pulled my tabard over my head and tied my cloak on. As I buckled my belt over the tabard, I walked toward a large mirror that was mounted on the wall opposite the door. I took a moment to gaze at myself so as to make sure everything was in order. My armor was mostly of the color red, though my leggings were silver and my chest piece was gold and green. I had gathered the various pieces of armor from my adventures, taking the best pieces I found from vanquished foes, so it was complete coincidence that any of them matched. The color clash was resolved by my tabard, which bore my guild's symbol. It was red and covered most of my mail tunic. I didn't wear a helmet, mostly because the large ears every Night Elf has makes wearing one a hassle. Instead, I had a copper-colored head band which held most of my dark purple hair back, though I allowed my bangs to remain in front. I had the hair and skin color of my mother, both violet, but my hair was a darker shade. She kept hers long, but I preferred mine short, as lengthy hair got in the way during close combat. To finish, I quickly brushed my hair and latched my sword and axe onto my belt. Grabbing my bags and bow, I headed downstairs to meet up with Tekki and find Kana.

"It's about time!" Tekki declared when he spotted me coming down the stairs.

"Well, I wanted to look the best I could." I walked over to the table he was at and sat down across from him. "We are meeting with the king, after all."

He gave a sigh and shook his head. "We've met with him in the past. You know he isn't concerned with his fighter's looks, just their skill!"

"I know, Tekki, I was just kidding. It didn't take me any longer to get ready than it usually does."

The waitress came to our table, and spoke with a smile on her face. "Good morning Shina, who's your friend?"

"This is Tekki," I spoke with a cheery tone of voice. "I'm surprised you haven't already met him."

"He's an adventurer as well, I assume?" She looked down, searching for his weapons.

"Aye, and quite the skillful one." Smiling, I turned toward Tekki.

He grinned and spoke. "You give me too much credit."

"Well, I don't know, that is a pretty high rank." The waitress pointed to the badge that was sewn onto the left shoulder of Tekki's tunic. "Knight-Champion, is it?"

"Yes, but its not as high a rank as most people think." He looked down at his badge and continued. "I'm only about halfway through the rankings."

"You're still two ranks higher than I am." I gave a mock salute. "Give the order, sir!"

Tekki glared at me. "Don't salute me, mock or no! I'm only your superior on the battlefield."

"Just order breakfast, Tekki." I motioned toward the waitress, who now had a pen and notepad ready. "We have time to eat."

* * *

When we finished eating, we headed out to Menethil Harbor, toward the gryphon master. It wasn't the usual attendant, but she was well-equipped for the job. She was wrapped up tight in stitched and padded leather, her hair pulled back and her face protected by a pair of goggles. As we approached her, she looked up at us, her gaze resting upon Tekki for a moment. I searched one of my bags, found our order from the king, and showed it to her. She lifted the goggles from her face and studied the paper. Looking back up at us, she spoke. "So you're to have free gryphon transport for two?"

"Yes, we would usually just pay the fee anyway but we're running a little low on gold." She had returned the order and I placed it back into my bag.

"No problem, it's always a pleasure to aide those serving the king." She motioned for us to follow her.

We were brought over to two gryphons who were nested away from the others. They seemed to have been the recipients of extra care, as both their fur and feathers were shiny, healthy, and well-kept. The bird closest to us lifted his head and stared our way as we drew nearer, giving off a sense of pride. "These two are the fastest of our gryphons, but they tire easily. So, we don't use them for everyday transport. They're reserved for emergencies or those with an order from the king." She turned to face us and continued. "I assume you both know how to saddle and mount a gryphon?"

"Yes, we can handle it ourselves." Tekki nodded as he spoke.

"Alright then, if you'll excuse me, I have customers to attend to." She saluted and made her way back to the main gryphons.

When she had left, Tekki and I began to saddle the gryphons. However, when I had approached mine, it flapped its wings violently and squawked angrily. I jumped back, startled by its sudden aggressive outburst, tripped over Kana, and fell backwards onto my butt. Tekki had turned to see what the gryphon was freaking out about just in time to witness my clumsy moment. He laughed too hard, as tears were streaming down his face.

I had not known Kana was there, and found that he was the cause of the gryphon's uncertainty. Once I had gotten the gryphon to understand that Kana was my pet, it allowed me to saddle it. When I had finished with the saddle, I strapped one of my bags onto either side of it, and the third onto my back. I motioned for Kana to get on top of the bags, which he did with a great leap. This startled the gryphon a bit, but didn't cause another angry outburst. At that point, I looked over at Tekki, whom was already finished, mounted, and waiting for me. I climbed up onto the gryphon, with great difficulty, and positioned myself in the saddle. Grabbing hold of the reins, I gave a nod to Tekki to let him know I was ready.

Tekki kicked his gryphon's sides and the beast began to run toward the docks. I followed behind him, a little uneasy. I had never guided a gryphon before. Usually, I received a gryphon that knew a certain flight path. I had hoped that guiding a gryphon would be similar to guiding a horse or riding tiger. Though, as I found, I could not give it mental commands as I did with my tiger. The ground commands were the same as a horse, so I was able to guide it down the dock. I was too far behind Tekki to see the commands he gave his gryphon as he reached the end of the dock and took off into the sky. When I reached the end of the dock, my gryphon jumped off and flew only a few feet above the water. Kana panicked, sinking his claws into the gryphon, causing it to squawk and flap its wings frantically. Hearing the commotion, Tekki brought his gryphon around and shouted something at me. "The reigns! Flick the reigns!"

I flicked the reigns up and back down onto the gryphon's neck. We quickly gained altitude, and I pulled back on the reigns when I was about level with Tekki. The gryphon hovered in the air, now content as Kana had calmed down and retracted his claws. Tekki looked at me and chuckled. "You've never guided a gryphon before, have you?"

I looked down and shook my head. "I usually get one that knows a specific flight path."

"That's fine, I'll teach you how later. Until then, I can guide your gryphon if you want."

"Please!" I handed my reigns to him, and he tied them to the back of his saddle.

Soon, we were back in motion and on the way to Stormwind.

* * *

We landed in Stormwind's gryphon nesting tower about an hour after we took off from Menethil. Dismounting, we headed down the stairs and out into the main part of the city. The trade center, oddly, wasn't busy at all and we had no problems with getting through. We made our way to the canals and headed past Old Town toward the Keep. As we were walking, I noticed a fellow guild member standing on the bridge up ahead. I would not have known he was in my guild if he were not wearing a tabard displaying our guild symbol. He was heavily clad in armor; his face, neck, and ears were all that was exposed. As we drew nearer and I was able to make out his face, I realized that he was Oghmaric, a Night Elf warrior. "Greetings, Oghmaric!" I gave a slight wave. "How are things going in the guild?"

He turned to face me as I spoke. "Hey, Shina! I haven't seen you in a while." He leaned against the bridge railing and continued. "There's a guild meeting today in Ironforge. Try to be in the Military Ward around noon, alright?"

"I'll do my best to be there, but I don't know what the king wants with us yet." I motioned toward Tekki as I finished my sentence.

"Oh, so you're the guild member the king called for duty?" He smiled, standing strait again. "In that case, forget about the meeting. We were enlisted to fight at Arathi Basin, but you'll be assigned to something else."

"The entire guild was called to war?"

"All but one, who was called for a different mission." He pointed at Tekki. "Who's he?"

"Knight-Champion Tekki, called to duty by the king as well." Tekki spoke with a steady voice and gave a slight salute.

I sighed and looked over at him. "You don't have to be so militant when not on duty. You don't act that way when it's just me you're talking to, so why talk that way to others?"

Oghmaric chuckled and turned to go. "Well, good luck with the king." He walked off, his armor clanging with every step.

"I hope things go well for the rest of the guild." I spoke with worry in my voice, but Tekki did not respond.

We crossed the bridge and headed down the street toward the Keep. When we entered the long hall that led to the throne room, two guards questioned us. "What is your business here?" The first asked as the second gripped his sword.

"I see security has tightened since the last Horde attack." Tekki spoke sternly and confidently. "We're here with an order from the king."

Reaching into my backpack, I pulled out our order and handed it to the guard. He looked it over, nodded to the other guard, and handed it back to me. Stepping aside, they motioned for us to continue down the hall. Thinking I might need to show the order to someone else, I kept it out as we walked toward the throne room. We were not confronted again, but we did receive many stares from the royal guards as we passed by. When we reached the throne room, the king recognized us immediately. "Knight-Lieutenant Shina and Knight-Champion Tekki! Just the two soldiers I was looking for."

We saluted the young king and he set us at ease as he continued speaking. "With the current wars at Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin, and Alterac Valley, most of our military personnel are already overwhelmed with work." He swiped a small portion of his blond hair behind his ear. "The two of you are among our few remaining officers."

Looking over at Kana and then back to us, he spoke once more. "We currently have a fairly large group of soldiers and adventurers camped in Un'Goro Crater, led by three officers. We're lost all contact with them. Every attempt at communication has failed. Our only option left is to send a party to investigate."

He stood up strait and took a deep breath. "Normally, we'd send some recruits with a lower officer or two on a rescue mission, but retaining camp at Un'Goro is very important. We were setting up a gryphon flight path from Un'Goro to Theramore as we've received reports of approaching Horde armies in that vicinity." Scratching his nose, he continued. "Gadgetzan is neutral territory, so we must avoid conflict there at all costs. So, to stop the invading armies, we must do battle in Un'Goro or face seige at Theramore."

Sighing, he focused his attention on Tekki. "You have experience on the battlefield and currently hold the highest kill count of our remaining officers; this is why I chose you." He turned toward me and spoke once more. "I've heard stories about you facing entire raids of enemies alone that were not recorded because you were off duty. If even a fourth of them are true, you will be a strong force to fight along-side Tekki. Also, as a hunter, you are more aware of your surroundings due to the link between you and your albino. His senses add to your own, making you aware of enemies before they are even in bow's range. That is why I chose you."

"Knight Norian will be waiting for you at the Menethil inn with supplies for your journey. Good luck to you both." With that, he saluted and dismissed us.


	3. The Boat to Theramore

**Forsaken Flames**

A World of Warcraft Fan-Fiction

**The Boat to Theramore**

"He's quite intelligent for such a young lad." Tekki stated as we left the keep. "How old do you think he is now?"

"Probably around ten by now. Poor boy lost his father at such a young age. In a way, it scares me that the humans are being led by a child." I stopped and turned around. "Kana! What on Azeroth are you doing?"

Kana was in striking position, ready to pounce. However, there appeared to be no object or reason for his aggression. Tekki lifted a brow. "I think your lion's gone crazy. He's growling at imaginary prey."

The albino spoke within my mind. "There's someone there! My senses are never wrong."

"He says he can smell and hear someone following us." I unsheathed my sword and axe as I spoke. "Show yourself!"

A rather tall man with black leather armor slowly became visible. His long, black hair was tied back, his face completely uncovered, and two daggers were sheathed at his side. After a slight chuckle, the man spoke. "I can never get you with that blasted cat around!"

When I saw who it was, I sheathed my weapons. Kana had calmed down and was now sitting beside the human, allowing him to stroke his mane. "I wish you had been more honorable and pursued a more esteemed class of study." Sighing, I continued. "Our parents are very disappointed in you."

"I'm not a thief, I'm a rogue! Think of me as a spy for the alliance." He smirked after he spoke.

I gave him a cold stare. "A spy and an assassin."

"Let's just leave that part out; I hardly ever get assigned for that anyway." He appeared to be quite uneasy at that point. "Well, it was nice seeing you again, sis. I have a mission I have to complete."

Throwing something to the ground, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. It summoned Kana back to my side and we continued on our way through the city. After a short silence, Tekki spoke. "I never knew you had any siblings."

"Just the one; we don't talk about him much." My mind was filled with memories of our childhood.

"How can a Night Elf have a human brother?" He seemed reluctant to pose the question.

"He's adopted." I was trying to give the hint to change the subject.  
"So, what's so dishonorable about being a rogue?" Tekki finally asked the question I had been expecting.

"The class itself isn't dishonorable, the reason my brother wanted to study the field in the first place is why it has dishonored our family name." I kicked a stone into the canal.

"Why did he choose-" Tekki began but I interrupted him.

"I'd rather not talk about it. Let's just get a party together."

He nodded, and went with the change of subject. "Most of my friends are off at war, except Leynn. She hasn't permitted me to have a communications link with her though. I think she fears I'll stalk her." He still seemed curious about my brother, but he probably didn't want to upset me.

"I'll ask her." I reached into my side bag, retrieving a small light blue orb.

I tapped the orb lightly with my finger, bringing the magic within it to life. A concentrated thought about my friend sent the magic into work, connecting with her own orb. Her face appeared within the magic stone soon after. "Leynn? Can you hear me?"

"I sure can, Shina! What do you need?" She smiled into the orb.

"Tekki and I have been assigned to a mission and we've been put in charge of assembling our own party. We'd rather have people we know and can trust. So-" My message was cut short as Leynn started in.

"Sign me up! I'm in Ironforge right now, bored as heck." Her voice was strangely distorted through the magic link.

"We'll be gone for days, or even weeks. You understand that, right?" I wasn't entirely sure she knew what she was getting herself into.

"Yeah, I know. Your adventures are always so much fun through." She raised her eyebrows, mocking me.

"Very well, meet us in Menethil Harbor in about two hours." Once I had finished with my last message, I tapped the orb and ended the link.

Tekki was staring at me with an odd look on his face. "What?" I asked, a little creeped out.

He spoke, backing off a little. "You don't think she's mad at me do you?"

"Why would she be mad at you?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Tekki scratched the back of his neck. "Well, we exchanged some pleasantries a couple days ago. So she is coming then?"

"Yes, so we have a healer now."

"A healer?" He seemed surprised. "But I thought she was a druid."

"She's studied the restoration version of the class."

"Oh, great! We have a spaz for a life preserver!" He looked up at the sky, as if blaming the world.

I giggled a bit, and Tekki beamed a smile at me. "You're crazy, Tekki, you know that?" It'd been weeks since I last smiled, let alone laughed.

"Yeah, I know." He stretched his arms out to his sides a bit. "We'll need some serious spells with us. Unfortunately, I have a knack for alienating people, so I don't really know of any casters that will be willing to jump on ship with us."

"Well, there's my boyfriend. If you think you can stand him, that is." I winced a bit after I finished speaking.

"I suppose I can put up with him for a week or so." He sighed and crossed his arms. "but you two better not defile any of the tents."

I gave him an angry glare. "Tekki!"

"What? I don't want to have to sleep in it afterward!"

"I'll have you know that I'm saving myself until there's a ring on my finger!" I put my hands on my hips.

"Engagement, eh?"

"No, marriage!" I leaned forward, now a bit angry.

"I know, Shina. I'm just playing around." He smirked as he spoke.

I realized I'd fallen for one of Tekki's teasings again, and went right into reaching Basketius with a tap on the communications orb to avoid having to come up with a retaliation. "Hun, can you hear me? Are you busy?"

"Dear Lord! You scared me, Shina! I burnt my thumb."

"Sorry, I'll let you get back to what you were doing." I bit my lip and was moving to break the orb link.

"No, love, it's alright. What did you want?"

"I've been assigned to a mission with a friend and we've been left to form our own party. We need a warlock, would you like to come?" I gave a smile that carried a message – I wanted him to come along and keep me company.

"Certainly, let me pack some provisions. How long will it take us?"

"A week or two. Meet us at Menethil Harbor in about two hours, ok?"

"Alright, I'll be there." He ended the link immediately after he finished talking.

I spoke out loud to Tekki. "We have a druid and a warlock now."

"Now we just need a tank, someone that can take a few hits." He sighed and then continued. "I don't know any paladins or warriors that haven't been called away for duty. I seem to have a lot less friends than I initially thought."

I smirked and shook my head at the rogue. "I know a warrior, if he isn't busy, hold on." With that, I tapped the orb once more and concentrated on my friend Daedren. His face wavered into view and I smiled at his messy hair. "Daedren, are you busy?"

"Not really, what do you need?"

"Just wondering if you'd like to trudge out with me and the gang on a dangerous and difficult mission that you might never return from."

"Heh, sounds like fun." He gave a slight chuckle. "Count me in, nothing interesting has happened in ages!"

"Cool, then we have a full group! Meet us at Menethil Harbor in two hours."

"Alright, I'll see you then." He broke the link once he finished speaking.

Putting the orb back into my pouch, I gave a smile and spoke to Tekki. "We have a full group now, sir!" I saluted as I finished my sentence.

"Don't do that!" Tekki gave me an angry glare. "I'm not your superior outside of battle!"

"Chill, I'm just poking fun at you." I put my hands on my hips again. "You know just as well as I do that you'll never be my superior, even in battle. I'm a leader, not a follower."

"Very well, if that is how you want it." Tekki began walking again. "Though I will not give you orders, I shall still give... suggestions."

"Advice is always welcome, orders are not." I gave a slight smile and began to walk with him.

The canals would usually be full of adventurers at this time of day, but all I could see upon the streets were civilians. So many had gone to fight in the wars that it left the city nearly empty. Even the trade enter, usually the busiest section of the city, was quiet. It gave the place a feeling like a ghost town, even though those who lived within the city walls still remained.

When Tekki and I had reached the gryphon master, we showed our order from the king and we were led to a separate set of gryphons. Remembering my last attempt at guiding a gryphon, I immediately secured my set of reigns to the back of Tekki's saddle. Then, I attached my bag to the back of my own saddle and motioned for Kana to hop on. After he was settled, I climbed into the saddle myself, thankful for a much calmer gryphon than my last one. When I gave Tekki the signal that I was ready, he brought us up into the air.

After we'd been flying for a while, I grew tired of the silence. "We're headed right back to where we started." I had to raise my voice to be heard over the wind.

"We sure are!" Tekki glanced back at me. "The king could have saved us a trip if he'd just given us a ring with a communications orb instead of requesting to see us in person." He was shouting, but I could still barely hear him.

I smiled and we fell into silence once more. Seeing that conversation was too difficult while flying, I decided to enjoy the scenery.

When our destination came into view, Tekki brought the gryphons down smoothly. Once we had landed, we dismounted and retrieved our packs from the saddles. Kana jumped down from the gryphon's back and took his place beside me. "I hate flying." He spoke within my mind.

I scratched behind his ear and spoke to him out loud. "We've only one more flight and a boat ride, think you can handle it?"

"Yes, I can handle it. I won't like it one bit, but I can handle it." Kana shook his head as if to remove the feeling of flying and ran toward Tekki.

Tekki turned around after retrieving his things from his saddle just in time to be pounced by the albino lion. He lost all his breath in the fall and was gasping for air when Kana got off of him. I walked over and looked down at him with a smile. "I think he likes you."

He took in a large breath of air and spoke. "If that's what he does when he likes you, I'd hate to be someone he doesn't like!"

I giggled slightly and then held my hand out to help Tekki up. Then, we headed toward the Deepwater Tavern. As usual, I was greeted by all the workers. Though I had no house, the tavern was home to me, and I had a permanent room there. Tekki and I sat at a table and ordered lunch. Kana sat by my feet, awaiting his lunch and any scraps we might give him.

* * *

When we finished lunch and Kana was done picking at the bones of the chicken I'd given him, our party members began to arrive. Basketius was the first to show up. He was short, as were all gnomes, and wore the best quality robes one could find. They were dyed a dark, royal color of blue and his sash and trimmings were black. A wand was attached to his sash, carved with very little detail. His staff, however, was elaborately carved with flames and a real skull sat at the top, engulfed in blue fire. Blue was also the color of his eyes, bright and welcoming. Though, I never understood why he had dyed his hair pink of all colors. It was short, and he kept it spiked. "Hello, love." I said as I saw him walk inside.

Tekki crossed his arms and gave a grunt as his acknowledgment to Basketius's presence. Seeing Tekki, the gnome spoke in an uncaring tone. "I didn't know he was going to be here."

"I'm sure you two can manage to get along for a little while." I was sure to make my tone stern to inform them that I wasn't going to put up with any nonsense.

"I'll try." Basketius said as he struggled to climb up onto the tall – for him – chair beside me.

Tekki simply gave another grunt and gave the gnome an angry glare. Why on Azeroth didn't they like each other? Why did they hate one another? I never understood their seemingly senseless rivalry against one another. Neither had ever exchanged anything more than playful teasings when they had first met, yet they established a burning hatred for each other within a week. My thoughts were interrupted when another man walked in. "Basketcase! I didn't know you'd be here!"

"Oh, hey Daedren!" Basketius waved slightly at him. "I didn't know you'd be coming either."

"Basketcase?" Tekki chuckled at the nickname.

Daedren came over to the table. He was human, clad in the best plate armor one could find. His shoulder pieces were spiked and his belt buckle was in the shape of a skull. Other than that, his armor was pretty plain. Aside from its incredible shine, that is. A rather large sword was sheathed at his side and he held his helmet under his arm. Medium length red hair, pulled back out of his face, hung down his back. He motioned at Tekki and spoke. "Who's this?"

"A good friend of mine; his name is Tekki." I smiled when I finished.

Daedren bowed toward Tekki with human formality. "Tis a pleasure to meet you."

"Don't salute or bow to me, adventurer. I am Knight-Champion Tekki, your commanding officer, and that's an order." He took a drink of his ale when he was done talking.

"Yes, sir!" The human stood at attention, but did not salute. He was desperately trying not to laugh.

Basketius, however, laughed aloud. "I hate to break it to you, but Shina's the leader of this group, not you." He shook his head, still smiling and trying not to start laughing again.

A grunt was all they received as Tekki's reply. Daedren sat down beside the gnome, somehow still managing to suppress his laughter. "I'll never understand you people..." I took a sip of my ale when I had finished speaking.

"Sheesh, you guys are loud!" The voice belonged to Leynn, who had just walked into the tavern. "I could hear you from the gryphon nests!"

She was standing with her hands on her hips and she had a smile on her face. Leather was the material of her outfit, dyed with a dark red hue. The trimmings of her sleeveless tunic and skin tight pants were of white fur. Beneath her tunic, she wore a long-sleeved cloth undershirt. Her boots and gloves were dyed a much darker red than the rest of her outfit but were lined with the same white fur. A staff was strapped to her back, uncarved and worn naturally by the weather. Long, white hair hung over her shoulders and down her back. Her skin was a light gray color, nearly white itself, and her eyes were nothing more than two small turquoise fires blazing from her sockets. The contrast between her skin and her outfit made her stand out.

"It's not me, it's these idiots!" I motioned toward the guys as I spoke.

I received another angry glare from Tekki before he turned to speak to Leynn. "Now that you are here, we can prepare to board the boat to Theramore."

"Let me get my things from upstairs." I stood and headed up the staircase.

* * *

I pulled my inn key out of my backpack and unlocked the door to my room. Three more bags and a quiver, packed with extra clothes, food, potions, and arrows, were waiting for me inside the large chest at the foot of the bed. I slung the quiver onto my spare shoulder and then attached the bag full of clothes to the back of my belt. The other two bags were much smaller, and I attached them to either side of my belt. I took care, however, so my weapons would not bang against the potions bag and break the fragile, though safely packed, vials. Once finished, I left the room and locked it behind me. I returned downstairs to find my group missing, and the table overturned. "What happened?" I asked the waitress.

"Your two men got into a little spat. They're outside dueling now."

Giving a sigh, I shook my head and looked to the ceiling. "By the Light! Why can't those two just get along?" I set the table back up, unsheathed my sword and axe, and headed out the door.

Tekki and Basketius had set a dueling flag up and were battling like mortal enemies. A succubus was the demon the gnome had summoned, and it had begun its charming spell. The night elf, however, resisted its call and swiftly stabbed it in the chest. It let out a horrific scream, high-pitched and unreal, before falling to the ground in a heap. Seeing that his minion had fallen, Basketius began casting another spell. Tekki turned toward him and started running with all his force, dagger at the ready.

"Those two are going to end up killing each other!" I spoke quietly to myself and moved so that I'd be in reach when Tekki ran by me.

As he passed by, I grabbed him by the cloak, yanked him back, and bashed him in the back of the head with the blunt side of my axe. He immediately dropped to his knees and held the back of his head in pain. Basketius had stopped casting when he'd seen me, and walked over. "Uh... He started it!" He pointed at Tekki.

"I did not, you liar!" Tekki looked up at Basketius as he spoke.

I then bashed Basketius on the head with the hilt of my sword. He let out a yelp and covered his head as if to protect it from further attack. "I don't care who started it! I expect better out of both of you!" I was shouting and a crowd had begun to form. "You're acting like children!" I sheathed my weapons, ripped the dueling flag up, and threw it to the ground in front of them. "Now, put that away!"

Basketius removed the flag from the pole and started folding it while Tekki disassembled the pole itself. They then packed it back up into Tekki's bag. It was Tekki's flag, which meant that he was the one to initiate the duel.

"Light save us!" Daedren was standing next to Leynn several feet away. "I've never seen her angry before!" He was clutching at his helmet, tense and uneasy.

I glared over at Daedren and then turned back to Basketius and Tekki. "Why are you two always at each other's throats?"

Tekki started blushing and looked down at the ground. Basketius looked up at me and answered. "I'm just trying to protect you."

"Protect me from one of my best friends?" I put my hands on my hips.

Basketius fell silent and just stared at me. There was no way I was going to get anything more out of either of them; the gnome had an expression that I recognized, sheer, unwavering stubbornness. When he was like this, there was absolutely no talking to him with any sort of sense or reason. I sighed, giving up on the both of them for now, and soon heard footsteps behind me as someone spoke. "Knight-Lieutenant Shina?"

I turned around to see who had spoken my name. It was a human, clad in heavy plate armor. His tabard bore the symbol of Stormwind's royal guards. There was no helm on his head, and his long blond hair was pulled back into a braid. A sword was sheathed at his side, and a shield was secured to his back.

"Knight Norian, I presume." I dropped my hands back to my sides.

He gave a salute and continued to speak. "Your supplies for your journey across the desert are being loaded onto your boat as we speak. When you reach Theramore, your supplies will be loaded onto gryphons. Once you reach Gadgetzan, you will be given new animals that can withstand the desert heat, carts that travel well in sand, and rooms in the inn to stay for the night."

"That's good to hear, I was a bit worried about how we were to transport our supplies." I gave a slight salute and the man headed out toward the docks.

I then turned back toward Tekki and Basketius, who had finished with the flag and gotten back to their feet. "They're loading our supplies now, so hurry up and buy any throwing daggers, reagents, or whatever you need now. I'm guessing we have about half an hour before we depart."

Leynn darted off towards Menethil's stronghold and Tekki returned to the inn. "Looks like they both forgot to stock up." Basketius brushed the dirt off his robes as he made his comment.

Daedren walked over and put a hand on Basketius's head. "Basketcase, try to behave yourself. Your woman can handle herself, just watch her back in battle and all will be well."

The gnome fell silent for a moment, but then began to flail his arms at the warrior. "Get your hand off my head, you'll mess up my hair!"

Daedren chuckled a bit to himself, and then gave the warlock a noogie. "Dye your hair a different color, you look like a color blind troll wanna-be." He then let Basketius go and walked off.

I sat on a bench in front of the inn, stretching my legs out. Basketius climbed up and sat beside me. After a few minutes of silence, I spoke up. "He's right, you know." I looked over at him. "I only need protected in battle."

He nodded in acknowledgment. I smiled and gave him a hug, nearly lifting him up off his seat. He hugged me back and then kissed me on the cheek. "I just worry about you because..." He paused for a moment. "Because I love you."

"Ahem!" Tekki cleared his throat and sat down on the other side of me. "So, how long until we leave?"

I looked at him with an annoyed look on my face. "When Leynn gets back, we'll head out to the boat."

Kana walked out of the inn and laid at my feet. "I know why they don't get along, but I'll leave that for you to discover on your own." The lion spoke within my mind with a bit of a smug tone.

I responded mentally. "That's great, Kana. Now the fact that you know and I don't is going to drive me insane!"

Leynn returned shortly after my conversation with Kana with a new bag attached to her belt. "Ready when you are!" She proclaimed as she put her right hand on her hip.

"Alright, let's move out!" I spoke as I stood up, shouting to Daedren as I made my way toward the docks. "We're leaving Daedren, come on!"

* * *

Finally, the last of the supplies were loaded onto the boat and we set out to sea. Leynn wandered about, flirting with all the sailors while Daedren slept in his quarters. Tekki stayed at the railing, gazing out at the horizon. The gnome was busy studying his spell book, so I decided to have a chat with the captain.

He was at the wheel, and seemed completely untroubled. "I see by your face that you're expecting calm weather tonight." I stepped up beside him and Kana took his place at my side.

"Aye, but even the calmest weather can turn into a storm."

I turned to Kana and stroked his mane. He lifted his nose to the sky and sniffed the air. Then he looked back at me and spoke within my mind.

I relayed Kana's message to the captain. "My lion says there's a storm to the west, but it's headed away from us."

"Your lion has a weather nose, does he?"

"All animals do, captain." I gave him a smile and continued. "If you need to know about the weather, just ask."

"Will do! Tis best to avoid bad weather as much as possible!"

Kana gazed up at me and spoke mentally. "I feel a bit sick, I think I should lay down..."

"I have to go, captain. It was nice talking to you." I turned and led Kana to my quarters.

I spent most of the remainder of the boat ride inside with Kana. The poor albino was easily seasick, and the waves were unusually rough during our trip. Basketius had his nose in his spell books the entire time, setting them aside only to eat or sleep. I lost track of Leynn; she was probably off having fun with some of the sailors. Daedren was having problems similar to Kana's, spending most of his time either asleep or at the railing wishing he were asleep. Tekki disappeared after the first night, and I did not hear from him again.

I sighed, having been left to nothing but my thoughts – something I liked to avoid as much as possible. I tended to contemplate senseless things, like the meaning of life and the origin of the universe; the sort of troubling questions no mortal will ever know the answers to. My thoughts roamed around to various topics, going through the last few days' events. However, they rested themselves upon a very odd topic for me to be contemplating. I hardly ever thought about my brother, having been upset about his dishonorable choice of a lifestyle, but I found myself thinking about him. I remembered the day I realized he was slipping away from us – the day I spoke with him about father's death. We had just lost him two days before, and I was waning in my faith of the goddess Elune. I had prayed to the false idol in hopes that my father would return safely from battle, but an idol cannot answer prayer. He returned home as a casualty, struck down during his morning prayer to the false goddess. I confided in my brother about my doubts in Elune and my conversion, as he was already a believer in the Light and its greatness, but I fear I had planted a seed of doubt. Perhaps he blamed the Light for the same death I blamed Elune for.

I scolded myself for thinking such self-loathing things and forced myself to return my thoughts to more pleasantries. Rolling over in the bed, I looked toward Kana. The poor albino was resting on the far side of the room on the floor, whining now and again from his rolling stomach. "How are you holding up there, boy?"

The lion did not look up, but responded with a hefty sigh; it sounded like a mixture between a growl and a moan, a sound of pain and misery. I winced at hearing it, as it was a terrible thing to hear – the very sound tugged at your heart. "I'm sorry, I wish I could do something for you."

* * *

We docked in Theramore three days after we set sail. A group of workers were awaiting our arrival, and they wasted no time in transferring our supplies. They finished loading our things onto gryphons within the hour.

"That didn't take near as long as loading the boat did." My statement was directed toward Tekki.

"Menethil is known for slow service." Tekki mounted his gryphon, apparently not caring if I had anything more to say or not.

I shook my head and then turned toward the rest of the group. "Mount up guys. Follow Tekki, he knows where he's going." With that, I had Kana get on my gryphon and then climbed up myself.

I tied my reigns to the back of Basketius's saddle and he gave me a strange look. "Too lazy to guide your own gryphon?"

I looked down, poking my forefingers together, and responded. "I don't know how to guide a gryphon."

He gave a chuckle and climbed into his gryphon's saddle, struggling as he did so. "Don't worry about it, I'll teach you later."

"Tekki already said he would."

"Oh. I see." The gnome went quiet, looking ahead of him and waiting for Tekki's lead.

Once everyone was mounted and the supply grypons were securely attached to the saddles of those being guided, we took to the sky. The winds were calm and night would come soon, so we did our best to hurry to our destination.

I loved to see Azeroth at sunset, when the sky was streaked with pinks and violets. It was a blessing from the Light, showing us the beauty of his creation every day – both at dusk and at dawn. I smiled while watching the sun go down, knowing that the Light was watching and protecting us now. Yet, my mind returned to unpleasant thoughts – I couldn't put my brother out of my mind for some reason. I frowned at my mind as it ruined this beautiful moment with the Light, and sighed as I realized why. I was sure then that I was being told something – the Light was trying to send me a message. My brother needed me, I could feel it, but there wasn't anything I could do about it at the moment.


	4. Desert Sands

**Forsaken Flames**

A World of Warcraft Fan-Fiction

**Desert Sands**

We landed in Gadgetzan about three hours after we left Theramore. The heat was far worse then I had expected, as I could already feel a headache coming my way. We dismounted our gryphons and untied the ones that were being led – the honorable beasts would not move from where they were left until they were led or given the command to return to the nest. A group of human workers immediately began moving our supplies onto sled-like carts with haste I had not yet seen in Alliance laborers.

I took a moment to look around the town as our supplies were being unpacked, and discovered it to be rather pleasant to look at. Though it did not have the towering beauty of cities such as Stormwind, with their stone columns and buildings, it did indeed have a quaint look to it. The buildings were not constructed out of brick or stone blocks, but actually appeared to be made out of solid walls of sand. Not blocks of packed sand, but hardened sand in the complete shape of each building. One single slab of packed and heated sand, shaped and contoured to construct each building. The roof of each building appeared as a separate block, and each had a hole in the center to allow smoke to pass through for indoor fires. I took in the wonders of this small town, curious as to how they managed to create such buildings, and I looked toward Tekki and smiled.

"I'll keep an eye on the workers, you go see to our rooms." Tekki gave me a salute when he finished speaking and headed toward the men moving our supplies.

"Ok, whatever." I spoke to myself. "It's not like you'd give me a choice anyway." I then turned toward the rest of the group. "Come on guys, let's get settled."

* * *

The inn was nothing more than a building with a dining table, stove, and about ten hammocks. "You have got to be kidding me!" Sighing, I walked in to speak with the innkeeper.

"Time is money, friend. Make it quick." The goblin looked up at me when I addressed him.

"We are the group from Theramore, our stay should already be paid for."

"Names?" He picked up a scroll and unrolled it.

"Knight-Lieutenant Shina, Knight-Champion Tekki, and party." I motioned toward Basketius, Leynn and Daedren as I finished.

"You're all paid up; supper will be served in a little over an hour." He rolled the scroll back up and returned to the papers he had been studying.

I shook my head and then motioned for the others to come in. "Pick a hammock." I spoke with annoyance in my voice.

Leynn was the only one that didn't seem shocked by the absence of beds, probably because she was used to sleeping in the wide open outdoors and even when she did sleep at home – she lived in a tree – her bed wasn't a bed. The chairs and table of the inn were made to goblin height, too short for elves and humans, yet still too tall for gnomes. I sat down on a chair and Basketius climbed up to sit on my lap. "You really need to dye your hair a different color." I was rubbing his neck as I talked with him.

"People keep telling me that." He paused for a moment and then continued. "I was thinking of blue or maybe white."

"Anything but pink." I thought for a moment and then corrected myself. "No, I take that back. Anything but neon colors!"

He chuckled a bit and then started leaning on me. The gnome was sound asleep within minutes.

* * *

Tekki strolled in about twenty minutes before dinner would be served. He stopped almost as soon as he walked through the door, gawking at the hammocks. Once he had gathered himself again, he moved his gaze over toward me. He then grunted, glaring angrily at Basketius, who was still fast asleep in my arms. Tekki moved over to the hammocks, picked one, and laid down with his back to us.

I looked over at Kana, who was curled up on the floor next to my chair. He was awake, so I spoke to him mentally. "I think I know why now."

"Why what?" He responded, confused.

"I think I know why Tekki and Basketius hate each other."

"Oh really? Then, why?" He lifted his head to peer up at me.

"Tekki treats Basketius like a child because he's so small, and Basketius hates being treated like that. So, he gets mad and insults Tekki, who demands respect from everyone." I smiled, proud of myself.

"No, but that adds to it." The lion yawned.

"No?" The smile was now gone from my lips. "Then why?"

"You'll figure it out." He laid his head on his paws and closed his eyes.

That was just like Kana; he hated to give me advise or answers directly, claiming that the discovery was part of the lesson. However, I simply found it annoying, as the answers were often obvious and it would have saved a great deal of time and effort if he had just told me. I sighed, fiddling with the hair on the back of Basketius' neck, and turned my thoughts to him. He seemed so at peace when he was asleep, a much different appearance than his usual stressed expressions. The peaceful, happy face he wore reminded me of our earlier days as a couple.

Back then, two years ago, he was so energetic and joyful – my very best friend. Everything he said was for a laugh; a joke, a story, a face – he loved to make people happy. We started going on adventures together, fighting alongside each other against monsters and Horde. He went about everything lightheartedly, knowing that we could take down any foe we faced. That is, until a certain shaman came our way.

It was a wonderful windy summer day, and we were out hunting wolves for pelts to sell. We were in Horde territory, but we hadn't seen a single troll, orc, or undead all day. So, we let our guard down and settled in the grass to have lunch. We were contemplating a nap when a lone wolf darted out of the bushes and tackled me to the ground, biting at my shoulder. I couldn't reach my swords, and the wolf's jaws were clasped too strongly on my muscle for me too knock it off of me. Basketius sprung to his feet, beating the wolf on the back of the head with his staff, but the creature fought on. He finally risked injuring me with a fire spell, aiming sideways at the wolf to avoid me. The creature sprang off me to dodge the attack, his jaws drenched in my blood. It stared at Basketius with an intelligence in its eyes that I had never seen in any animal before – and then it ceased to be an animal. A troll stood in its place, casting a nature spell and hurling it toward the gnome. Basketius cast a shadow bolt toward the ball of energy, causing them to meet and destroy each other, and then another to hurl at the Shaman. He rolled out of the way, transforming into the wolf again as he did so, howled, and darted off.

I knew the gnome would have chased after him if I hadn't been so badly injured, but he ran to my side when he saw the amount of blood I had lost. I clutched at my wound, trying to stop the bleeding, but it was useless. Weariness overcame me, my vision blurred, and I lost the world in darkness.

When I finally came to, I found myself in a large tent, already bandaged and cleaned up. I looked around, hoping to find my companion, and was met with worried eyes. Basketius was sitting at a study table on the other side of the tent and met my gaze with a half-smile. "I'm glad you're finally awake." He hopped off the stool he was sitting on and headed over to me. "I was beginning to get worried."

"Beginning to get worried? From the look in your eyes there, you were already in stage three worry." I smirked, joking around with him.

He didn't laugh. All he responded with was a halfhearted twitch at the corner of his mouth. He was truly worried about me – despite knowing that I was a fast and steady healer, capable of recovering from even the most severe wounds within half the time of gnomes and humans. Tears had begun to well up in his eyes as he looked at me with a new emotion in his expression. He moved closer to me, pulling himself up to sit on the bed beside me as I turned a bit. The gnome sighed, letting his shoulders move with the breath he let out, and then spoke. "I wasn't sure you were going to make it. You'd lost so much blood before I could manage to get you on my nightmare, much less to the Cenarion camp here."

"But I'm here, and I'm well, now aren't I?" I smiled at him, trying to relieve his worries and burdens.

He nodded, seeming more nervous than worried at that point. Scratching the back of his head, he talked once more. "Have you ever heard of a gnome dating outside their race?"

"No, I have to say I haven't. Why?" My smile disappeared, as I felt a new and strange atmosphere move into the room.

"What..." He cleared his throat, as his voice was shaky. "What would you say to you and I..."

I was certainly slow in grasping things, but my mind finally tuned in to the proper channel and I realized what he was proposing. With a smile, I hugged him and answered. "Certainly Basketius." I let him go and continued. "But we're going to receive some strange looks."

He simply smiled back, and I knew then that I had felt the same way all along.

I sighed as my memories of our first day as a couple drifted to a close in my mind, and I smiled at the sleeping gnome in my arms. Leaning down to kiss his forehead, I leaned my elbow against the table to settle in and let him nap.

* * *

Dinner was served a short while after Tekki arrived. We all gathered around and sat awkwardly at the goblin-sized table, staring at the large pot set in front of us. The chef dipped a ladle into it, and scooped out a yellow and green colored slime. He splat a scoop onto each of our plates, lifted the pot, and returned to his cooking station. We stared at the unknown mass sitting on each of our plates, unsure as to whether or not it was even edible. I looked across the table at Leynn with a disgusted look on my face. She returned the look with her own and pushed her plate aside. "There are apples in my bag."

"You rock, Leynn!" I got up and followed her over to her things, the rest of the group close behind me.

After everyone had received an apple from Leynn's bag, we all sat in the corner of the inn and began to chat about recent events. We had a few heated discussions about how the Alliance kingdoms were being run, due mostly to the young human king, but most of our conversation was friendly and peaceful. Our group nodded off one by one as it grew later in the night until only Tekki and myself remained awake. He was looking at me strangely, darting his eyes over to Basketius now and again, and seemed somewhat uneasy. I thought I might take advantage of his unusual demeanor, and eventually worked up the courage to ask him about what had been on my mind for several days. "I don't think I'll ever understand unless I ask, so... Why do you and Basketius fight all the time?"

"Regret." He looked up at the ceiling and continued. "We should go to bed. We need to get up early tomorrow"

I sighed, knowing that was all I was going to get out of him. "Alright, we can set out at sunrise." I moved to curl up with Basketius as I finished.

Tekki walked over to Kana, who was laying near the door to keep cool. The lion allowed the rogue to pet him for some time. I slowly dozed off while watching them.

* * *

I awoke to the noise of kitchen utensils clanging together. Looking around, I noticed Tekki was already up and getting ready. "When you said early, I didn't think you meant before the night was over!" I tried to talk quietly.

"What are you talking about? The sun should rise in about thirty minutes." He pulled his tunic on over his head, turned to me, and continued. "I asked Kana to wake me up when he sensed the sunrise approaching. The chef is making breakfast for us, by the way."

"Kana actually did what you asked?" I stared at him in disbelief.

"Well, I had to bribe him with some quail, but yeah." He laughed quietly to himself.

"Oh." I smiled, got up, and began putting my armor on. When I'd finished getting dressed, I woke the others up. Tekki had already gone to see to our supplies, and breakfast was almost ready.

Kana was now following me around as I gathered my things together, and when I'd finished packing up my possesions, I grabbed his brush from my bag and started grooming him. He was shedding horribly. "Geeze, Kana! It's not that hot, is it?" I spoke out loud.

He turned his head to one side, unable to look directly behind him to gaze at me. "I suggest you prepare yourselves well. You do nicely in extremely cold temperatures with me to keep you warm, but you've never done well in extreme heat." When he'd finished speaking, he got up, walked forward a bit, and shook himself, sending fur flying everywhere.

"Kana!" He turned to face me. "I was brushing you to keep that from happening!"

He laughed within my mind and ran out of the inn. "Rotten feline!" I shouted after him.

Basketius and Leynn burst out in laughter, while Daedren tried to keep a strait face. The human walked over to me and spoke. "It seems that your lion is not as obedient as you let on..." He was forcing a smile off his lips.

"He's a five foot tall lion that weighs about four times more than I do. He pretty much does whatever he wants to." I packed the brush into the main backpack and secured it shut.

Daedren let out a chuckle and then continued to gather his own things together, the others following his gesture. When everyone had finished packing, we sat down to breakfast, which was actually just a collection of fruit; everyone except for Tekki, that is, who simply walked in, grabbed a banana, and left again.

"That man never takes a break!" I was talking to myself. "I swear, he's going to end up killing himself!"

"Shina, you're talking to yourself again..." Basketius walked up behind me and tugged on my tunic.

"I know, I tend to do that." I turned to face him and kneeled down to his height. "Sometimes I do it a little too much though."

I gave him a quick kiss and a hug. He smiled and spoke. "Tekki interrupted us yesterday... I really do love you."

Tekki came in and started shouting before I could respond. "Alright, everyone finish packing your carry-on bags and pick a mount." He made a motion with his hand as he was leaving the inn again. "Let's move out!"

We got to our feet, grabbed our things, and made our way out to follow Tekki. Five large lizard-like creatures awaited us, already saddled. "What on Azeroth are those things?"

"What, haven't you ever seen a basilisk before?" Tekki smiled at me and then turned to climb atop his mount.

"Well, yeah, but they're dangerous creatures! Not something you'd ride!" I was very uneasy beside such a massive and threatening thing.

The rogue led his basilisk over to me and spoke. "Don't worry, they've been dispelled. They're incapable of paralyzing us."

"If you say so..." I was still very uneasy, but I mounted my creature none-the-less.

Our friends were also mounted soon after, some more willing to climb the saddles than others, and Tekki led us out of town.

Once we had left the protection of the city walls, we were exposed to the heavy winds and searing heat of the vast desert. I brought my hand up to shield my eyes, wishing I had some sort of hat that wouldn't hinder itself with the struggle over my ears. Perhaps a wrap would have done well to shield my head and eyes from the wind and heat, but my idea came too late to execute. So, I continued to lead my basilisk forward, squinting the entire way.

* * *

We were attacked by starving animals throughout the entire journey. Packs of hyenas would strike periodically, usually at night, but were easily cut down by our weapons. However, their scattered corpses started to attract other animals as well. Soon, we were confronted by rocs and fire rocs, which also went down without too much difficulty, but it was only a matter of time before much more dangerous creatures caught our trail.

One such incident occurred after we had defeated a small flock of fire rocs. The night started out well enough; camp was set and a fire was started with dinner set over the coals to cook. We were about ready to take it off the fire and eat when Leynn heard a strange noise. "Did you guys hear that?"

Tekki and I had also heard it, him having keen Night Elven ears that were attuned even farther with his rogue training, and myself having a bond with Kana and, thusly, the hearing abilities of a lion. "Yeah, it kinda sounded like hissing." I stood up, unsheathed my weapons, and listened more intensely.

The rogue stealthed, his image shimmering until he was completely invisible, to begin searching the camp. Our riding basilisks started hissing and growling, backing away from the trees we had them tethered to on the other side of camp - a sign that something was definitely out there. I decided to check on our mounts and make sure they were alright. As I got closer, their growling and hissing lessened. When I passed around them and reached the tree they were tied to, I stopped behind Daedren's mount, frozen in fear.

Two slanted yellow-glowing eyes stared at me from behind a small collection of rocks behind the tree. The creature hissed and I could no longer move any part of my body. I was under the paralyzing spell of a wild basilisk.

Slowly, it made its way toward me, and there was nothing I could do to defend myself. Since I was out of sight of camp, my friends didn't know I was in danger. I would have met my end that night, eaten alive by that terrible creature, if it weren't for Tekki.

He came out of nowhere, leaping onto the basilisk's back and plunging his dagger into one of its eyes. That broke the spell and I was able to land a killing blow to its skull with my axe, just after it threw Tekki from its back. It let out a horrible moaning growl, and then lay lifeless.

I stood there for a moment, still amazed that I had lived, before going to attend to Tekki. He was sitting up, holding his side. "Are you alright?" He winced in pain after he spoke.

"I'm fine, thanks to you. You're the one that seems to be hurt." I made him move his arms so I could see his side.

When he was thrown, the basilisk's back ridge must have hit him with a lot of force, as he had a deep gash that ran from his lower back to just below his chest. He was bleeding badly and needed immediate attention from a healer. "I'll be right back, hold on!" I darted back to camp as fast as I could. When I got there, I grabbed Leynn by the arm and started leading her back to the rogue. "Tekki's hurt, come on!"

I was out of breath by the time we got back to Tekki. "Oh my gosh! What happened?" Leynn was staring at Tekki in astonishment.

"The hissing we heard was a basilisk. It attacked me and... he saved my life." I motioned toward the basilisk's corpse and then toward Tekki.

Leynn kneeled down beside the rogue and started casting her healing spell. Her hands began to glow an earthly green color and the large wound in the rogue's side slowly shrank down to a gash, a cut, a scratch, and then disappeared all together. "Thanks, Leynn. I owe you a big favor." Tekki stood up and turned toward me. "You're a leather-worker, right?"

"Yes, I am." I helped Leynn to her feet. "I suppose you want me to fix your armor?"

"If you would, please?" He took his tunic off and handed it to me.

"No problem." I took it, and continued. "It's the least I can do, after all." The three of us headed back to camp.

"Is everything ok?" Basketius was in combat mode, with a voidwalker already summoned.

"Yeah, everything is fine. A wild basilisk was hiding out amongst our mounts." I sat down beside the campfire as I spoke to the gnome. "It's been taken care of."

Basketius freaked out and clung to my side. "A wild basilisk? Was anyone hurt? Is it dead? You didn't look into its eyes, did you?" I had been laughing at his panicked questions until the final one.

That moment when I realized I was trapped, my life flashed before my eyes. My first and final thoughts were of Basketius, whom I would have never seen again. The life that I wished to have with him, as his wife and best friend throughout our mortal lives, would have been cut short before it even had a chance to truly begin. As all of this flooded back into my mind, I began to weep. I held my head in my hands and allowed the tears to flow.

It was the first time I'd cried in years.

* * *

The next morning, we set out across the desert once again. As we drew closer to the center of that wasteland filled with sand, the heat grew more intense. It got to the point at which we had to pitch a tent around noon and take a break, getting out of the sun at the hottest time of day. All of us sat, cramped up in one of our large tents for hours as we waited for heat to go down, awkwardly trying to make conversation. Kana always opted to take a nap, having offered to carry my backpack, thusly draining more of his energy than necessary. Daedren and Basketius swapped stories toward the back of the tent, catching up on some much needed friend time. Leynn took the time to meditate and become more in tune with her goddess Elune, which made me quite uneasy and I decided to avoid her company for the time. That left me with only Tekki to chat with, and he hadn't been much of a talker since his fight with Basketius in Menethil. I sighed, once again left to my own thoughts, and eventually decided on a daily nap as well after a few days of frustrating thoughts of unanswered questions.

After our break one day, I thought I'd spotted a small watering hole in the distance ahead of us, surrounded by fencing. I nudged Basketius, who was riding alongside me, and asked him about it. "Am I seeing things, or is there water up ahead?"

He raised himself up in his saddle to see over the other three who were riding ahead of us. Before he gave me an answer, he took a second look as if he didn't believe what he had seen. "I see it too... So if it's not real, we're both crazy."

Instructing my mount to go faster, I rode up beside Tekki and tapped his shoulder. "I think there's a watering hole up ahead. We might have to fight off some monsters, but we could re-stock our water supply." I pointed in the direction I had spotted it as I finished.

He looked out in the direction I had pointed out and then lowered his head again. "You're right, we probably will have to fight off some monsters. So, I'll need my armor if you've finished with it."

"Oh, yes! I forgot about that." I pulled his tunic from my side pouch and handed it to him. "It's all mended and ready for battle."

"Thanks, Shina. You're the best." He pulled his tunic on and motioned another thank you, after which I rode back to Basketius.

* * *

When we arrived at the watering hole, it was nothing like we had been expecting. Yes, there were monsters, but they were all dead and their corpses were contaminating the water. A small grouping of rocs were feeding on a fresh hyena corpse on the opposite side of the watering hole. The rest of the dead monsters were already decomposing, most of them unidentifiable. Bones littered the sands beyond this point, giving a feeling of despair to the atmosphere.

"What on Azeroth happened here? Even the cacti are dead!" I turned toward Leynn, our druid and nature expert.

Leynn looked about with a solemn expression. "I sense poison. Not natural, of course..." She looked down at the floating corpses in front of her. "It's in the water."

"I guess that means we'll be traveling the final three days of our trip with less than one day's supply of water..." Tekki's face was emotionless.

"Doomed is he who does not prepare for the worst." Daedren turned his mount after he'd spoken, ready to continue our journey.

As Leynn stood mourning the loss of so many creatures, Tekki was looking around. He seemed uneasy, walking about with caution and moving his head about almost frantically. Curious, I stepped forward and addressed him. "Tekki, what are you doing?"

"Quiet!" He snapped back at me. "Someone's watching us..." His form wavered and he disappeared after finishing his sentence.

I was not able to follow his movements, even with the help of all the sand. He was so good at being a rogue that his steps did not leave prints. So, the rest of us were left to wait, watching for danger. Tekki let out a loud yell a few minutes later. He and his attacker were now unstealthed. I couldn't believe my eyes once I saw what had happened.

Tekki was on the ground, covering his face, and my brother was standing over him. "Five?" I shouted in surprise. "What did you do to him?"

The human rogue smiled, holding up his bloody knife. "Just borrowing this." He lifted his other hand, which was holding one of Tekki's eyes. "Nice seeing you again, sis."

I quickly pulled out my bow, knocked an arrow, and shot at him. However, he vanished and my arrow struck only sand. "Damnit!" I stomped the ground and threw my bow aside. "Leynn!"

"By Elune!" She ran over to Tekki's side, trembling. "I'm so sorry..."

"Do something, Leynn!" I was angry at my brother, furious with his traitorous actions, but was taking it out on the poor druid.

"I... I can't." She moved the rogue's hand away from his face, which was now missing a right eye. "I can't replace an eye. I can only heal the wound and stop the bleeding..."

"Please, that's enough. I may die if I'm not healed." He spoke with a mellow tone; a broken spirit.

Leynn positioned her hands over the wound, muttering runic words under her breath. Her palms began to glow with a soft green light and the bleeding stopped shortly after. "Thank you, Leynn."

She returned to her mount after healing the rogue, digging around in one of her bags. What she pulled out was a medical kit, which she opened to retrieve an item. It was an eye patch, which she handed to Tekki after putting the kit back in the bag. He put it on, still keeping his gaze down, even as he rose to climb back onto his basilisk. Silently, he kicked the beast's sides and continued toward Un'Goro.

The rest of us followed, now full of a sense of hopelessness.

* * *

We began to conserve our remaining water much more strictly, now unsure that we would have an opportunity to refill our water skins. Our mounts were given the most, since they were doing all the work, and we drank only during the hottest hours of the day - and very little even then. Kana was shedding even more, stopping to shake the loose fur off every five minutes or so.

As we traveled, I started to feel as though we were being watched. However, when I asked if Leynn had the same feeling, she responded rather harshly. "It's hot, Shina! You're probably just imagining things due to the heat and lack of water!" With that, she returned her full attention to steering her mount.

Not wanting to anger her further, I pulled my mount back beside Basketius and kept to myself. After a while under the sun, I began to waver in and out of reality. We hadn't come across any living monsters since we passed the poisoned watering hole, so I allowed myself to day dream in order to keep my mind off the heat. My thoughts focused around Basketius and all the fun we'd had. Then, for some reason, I started thinking about all the angry glares Tekki had given the two of us. "He's always so nice when I'm alone, but when Basketius is around, he does his best to avoid me."

I was jarred back to reality by a sudden loud crunching noise. Looking about me, I realized that the rest of the group had stopped just before the sands grew littered with millions of bones. My mount had continued onward into the mess, as it was not instructed to stop. I pulled back on the reins and turned to look at the rest of the group. Tekki was shaking his head at me while Basketius and Daedren laughed at my startled expression. "Sorry... I'm just really out of it today." I wavered a bit and then brought myself back to a proper riding position.

"It's alright, all of us are." Leynn brought her mount forward to the edge where the sands and bones met. "Some of these bones are humanoid. Ogres, humans, elves and others have been slain here."

"Well, we'll never get out of this heat just sitting around." Tekki motioned for us to continue onward. "Let's get this unpleasant journey over with."

With that, we began crossing the sea of death stretched out before us. The disturbing noise of crushing bones continuously followed our group, filling my daydreams with strange and sick images. I shook my head, refusing to fall into any ugly thoughts, and looked around at my friends.

The look on Leynn's face was one of devastation. For someone so in touch with nature and life, being surrounded by death and wasteland must have been hard. As a hunter, I was having trouble handling it, so I can just imagine the torture my druid friend was going through. Leynn was a very strong-willed druid, and I hoped she would hold out long enough to reach the lush lands of Un'Goro. There, she would feel well at home among the vegetation and wildlife.

* * *

The sun rose high above us as we slowly made our way through the desert, having skipped our daily break at noon. Tekki had suggested it, as our water supply was dangerously low and stopping would only encourage thirst further with drink being so close. Basketius seemed alert and ready to go, as did Leynn and Tekki. Daedren, however, was sweating terribly and teetering back and forth on his mount with a dazed look on his face. I wanted to tell him to take his breastplate off to cool down a little, but my mouth was so dry and I was woozy. All that I managed to get out was a few incoherent mumbles.

My chain-link armor attracted the intense heat of the sun and then trapped it inside, creating an oven effect that was slowly roasting me alive. I began to feel dizzy and weak, and had a constant headache that kept my thoughts on nothing but my pain and misery. Reality slipped out of my grasp little bits at a time. Basketius moved his mount over to me and tried to speak with me. "Shina, you look sick or something. Maybe we should get you out of the heat?"

I could see his lips moving, but his words sounded like whines and meaningless grunts. For a moment, I tried to unscramble the mess of words and understand what he said, but to no avail. The gnome looked worried and continued asking me questions. I heard my name a few times, wobbled, and then my world went black.

* * *

When I awoke, it was night and all my armor was gone. I was stretched out on my sleeping bag, dressed in nothing but my under tunic and a pair of boxers. Slowly, I sat up and looked around. Tekki, Leynn, and Daedren were asleep near a fire several feet away. Basketius sat nearby me, his arm and head bandaged. The gnome was half asleep but jumped right back into the swing of things when he realized that I was awake. "Shina! Are you alright? You kinda freaked me out back there..."

"Yeah... Sorry, I guess the heat got to me." I motioned toward his arm. "What happened to you?"

"Oh, we were ambushed by a group of ogres a few hours after you passed out yesterday. Tekki and Leynn were hurt too, but not badly." He moved closer to me and sat down on the ground.

"Yesterday? I've been out a whole day?"

"I'm afraid so." Leaning over, he kissed me on the forehead.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to leave you guys to fight on your own..." I teetered a bit and leaned back again.

"Take it easy, Shina. Heat exhaustion can be a really serious problem." Gently, he brushed the hair from my face and continued. "Tekki and Leynn are preparing some of their old leather armor for you to wear so this doesn't happen again."

I nodded lightly and then allowed myself to rest back down on my sleeping bag. "Goodnight Basketius. I love you." My eyelids closed and sleep found me quickly.

* * *

I awoke to a sudden jolt and realized that I was moving. Once my eyes had adjusted to the light, I discovered that I had somehow been dressed in leather armor, mounted onto Basketius's basilisk behind the gnome, and strapped in without anyone waking me. My first thought was spoken out loud. "Who dressed me?"

"Relax, kitten, Leynn did." The warlock looked back as he spoke.

The pet name startled me. "Kitten?"

"Sorry, just thought I'd try it out..."

"Oh, no, I like it... It's just different."

He smiled and turned his attention back to the terrain in front of him. Scooting back a bit to give Basketius some more room, I looked out in the direction we were headed. The sky on the horizon was patched with clouds, where the sky over the desert land was clear and dull. I leaned forward and spoke to Basketius. "Hey, could you ride closer to Leynn please?"

"Sure thing." He steered the basilisk toward the druid, who was hunched over on her mount.

"Leynn, are you ok?" I touched her shoulder as I spoke.

She jolted up as if I had startled her. "Shina! You're awake!"

"Yeah, and I'm feeling pretty good." I smiled and continued. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, what is it?"

I pointed to the horizon. "What could that mean?"

She looked up and a smile crawled onto her lips when she saw the grouping of clouds. "Rain forest."

I couldn't help but smile myself. "We're almost to Un'Goro!" I shouted as I hugged Basketius from behind. "We'll have water soon!"

"Try not to shout in my ear, ok Shina?" I could tell by his tone that the gnome was happy as well.

"Sorry hun." I was overjoyed about the coming change of scenery and didn't realize that I'd been shouting.

Basketius pulled his mount back to his place and the two of us fell silent as we joyfully trudged onward to the lush grounds of Un'Goro. Looking around, I noticed that Daedren was slumping over the neck of his basilisk. The warrior's face was sun burnt and his hair was matted down with sweat. "Daedren, take your breastplate off. It's baking you like an oven!"

He moved his head to look at me, and the expression on his face told me he did not understand what I had said. I made a motion to try to explain, pretending to take my tunic off. His expression changed, showing that he now understood. However, when he leaned back and moved to unfasten his armor, he lost his balance. The sand cushioned his fall, and the knight lay motionless on the ground, staring at the sky.

"Daedren's pulled a Shina move!" Leynn shouted ahead to Tekki and then turned, dismounting to help the warrior to his feet.

"Very funny, Leynn!" I rolled my eyes and got down to remove Daedren's breastplate. It was difficult to remove, as it was nearly too hot to touch.

When I'd gotten it off, I was able to see the skin of his neck and upper chest where his under tunic did not reach. "By the Light!" His skin was badly burned and blistered, leathery in some places. The warrior had been cooked alive. "If we hadn't done anything, he'd have melted inside his armor!"

Daedren looked up at me, blinking lazily. He closed his eyes for a moment, and jumped as if startled when he opened them again. Grunting and mumbling in protest, he began to scoot himself backward away from us. I reached for him, trying to calm him down, but he lashed out at my hand. "I think he's hallucinating." I moved back a bit in an attempt to set him at ease. "Poor Daedren... His brain must be fried!"

"Hopefully not permanently." Tekki had pulled his mount around and was looking down at the sorry-looking man. "We'll most likely need the warrior's help in Un'Goro."

"Leave it to Tekki to be cold-hearted!" The gnome was leaning forward in his saddle.

His remark was met with an angry glare from the rogue. Leynn and I finished stripping Daedren of his armor, leaving him in nothing but his under tunic and cloth leggings. He still seemed uneasy, obviously disturbed by whatever he was seeing, but the sound of our voices must have let him know who we really were.

Tekki reached out an arm and, with Leynn's help, pulled the warrior up onto his mount behind him. "Strap him in so he doesn't fall, pack his armor onto his mount, and tie his reins onto the back of my saddle."

I moved to secure Daedren's mount while Leynn strapped him in and put his armor away. Then, I got back onto Basketius's mount behind him, and Leynn re-mounted her own basilisk. We were soon on our way to Un'Gorro once again.


	5. Rest and Preparation

**Forsaken Flames**

A World of Warcraft Fan-Fiction

**Rest and Preparation**

The sand slowly turned into dirt beneath the feet of the massive lizards we were riding, and small patches of grass began to appear. When the grass grew solid, the ground began to slope down into the crater. Leynn laughed and giggled at the pleasant scenery change. "The air grows moist, the wind gentle, and the vegetation inviting..."

Daedren had come somewhat to himself, and was talking quietly to Tekki. The elf seemed absorbed in what he was saying, and listened quite some time before responding. After Tekki had finished speaking, Daedren started shouting. "You filthy rogue! How dare you say such a thing!"

"Only a coward would leave his family to the wolves." Tekki wasn't shouting but he was no longer concerned with staying quiet either.

Enraged, Daedren pushed the rogue, causing him to fall off the mount. He then followed, placing a foot on the elf's chest. "My family was slaughtered while I was off at war, serving my king!" He spat in Tekki's face.

The rogue grabbed Daedren's leg, yanking him down onto the ground as well. The two of them got into a fist fight, rolling around in the grass. After a punch to the face, Daedren let out a loud yowl. "You shall not insult my honor!"

His eyes grew black, the pupils taking over, and his muscles bulged as though he'd grown stronger. The warrior let out another yowl and then picked Tekki up with ease, standing up as he did so. Thrusting the elf down with great force, Daedren got on top of him, punching repeatedly at his face. The rogue threw his arms up to shield himself, his nose already bleeding down his face and neck.

"Daedren, stop it!" I jumped down off Basketius's mount and pulled back on the warrior's shoulders. I couldn't even budge him. "Leynn, Basketius, I could use a little help here!"

The druid and warlock dropped down off their mounts and ran over to help. With their help, I was able to pull Daedren off of Tekki, though it took quite a bit of time and force. "Calm down Daedren!" I had an arm around his neck, squeezing, but he continued to fight us. His eyes were still black and he was now gritting his teeth, snarling and yowling to be free.

"He's a berserker!" Tekki was scooting himself backward, fear clearly visible on his face. "An insane fury warrior!"

"Calm down, Daedren! Tekki is an ally!" I had to tighten my grip, as he was starting to break free. "He may be a total asshole, but he is still an ally!" I gave the rogue an angry glare.

The warrior's breathing slowed down and he gradually stopped fighting to get free. His eyes returned to normal and he sat still, now calm. Tekki sat holding his still-bleeding nose, as well as his ribs. His only remaining eye was black and bruised, as were his opposite cheek and both forearms. "Well, it seems the warrior is much stronger than he let on..."

He came to a stand, bowing slightly to Daedren. "I apologize for my rudeness, friend. Serving the king makes you an honorable man, especially with such a sacrifice."

Daedren looked up at him, nodding slightly. "And I'm sorry for exploding like that."

Tekki reached out a hand to help the warrior up, and the two of them got back up on their shared mount. The rogue had found a handkerchief for his nose and was steering with one hand. He waited for the rest of us to mount before continuing down the ramp into Un'Goro.

* * *

Smoke rose up from a grouping of trees far off into the distance. Once I'd noticed it, I looked over to Leynn. She nodded, signaling that she had seen it as well, and then steered her mount to point it out to Tekki. He looked up and searched the horizon when he'd been informed, changing course toward the smoke. "It must be a camp. There isn't enough smoke for it to be a forest fire." He turned his head to look at Leynn. "If you spot a watering hole, let me know. We can't go much longer without water."

"Will do!" The druid saluted and then fell back to where she'd been riding.

I began to sing quietly as we made our way across the rainforest.

_"The waning light of a dying eve  
creates the silhouette of a lone steed,  
wrought forth from memories of lost days,  
friends of yesteryear no more,  
never again to sup 'neath the starlit canopy.  
Now they lay, peacefully sleeping.  
Wondrous tales of their heroics  
shall never be told."_

Daedren turned his head around and glared at me angrily. "Please don't sing that song." He then turned back around and went silent.

Leaning forward, I whispered a question to Basketius. "Was the war in the song the same war Daedren fought in and lost his family?"

"I don't know, Shina. But try not to provoke him." He reached back and squeezed my hand, returning to guiding his mount shortly afterward.

"I suppose not..." I leaned back again and whispered to myself. "He did beat the daylights out of Tekki, after all."

That alone puzzled me. I already knew that Daedren outmatched Tekki in defense and endurance, but I always imagined Tekki would be the victor in a battle of strength and agility. Tekki was tough, very tough, but it seemed that Daedren was tougher. What else had the warrior bottled up and hidden all these years?

My train of thought was interrupted as Leynn shouted and steered her mount to head west. "There's a watering hole in the distance over there!" The rest of us adjusted our course to follow, new hope springing in our hearts.

* * *

When we arrived, we were confronted by a small group of raptors - three females out hunting that had stopped for a drink. They spooked our mounts, defenseless without their freedom or paralyzing stare, and we were forced to face the threat on foot.

I sent Kana after the largest of the three, excited to finally be of help instead of being asleep. He lunged for its throat, but the lion's massive fangs grasped nothing but air. Though he didn't succeed in hurting the creature, the albino did distract it for me. I quickly knocked an arrow and struck it down with a piercing blow to the skull. "One down!" I proclaimed triumphantly as I turned to check on the others.

Tekki had already downed one of the remaining two with a dagger to the chest, and another to the back of its neck. He stood above the body, cleaning his weapons. "That's two down, Shina." He lifted his head and smirked at me.

When Tekki had finished speaking, the third raptor let loose a terrible screech and then fell to the ground. It was nearly sliced in two. "And that's three." Daedren wiped his sword clean as he spoke and then returned it to its sheath.

"We didn't even get to do anything!" Basketius proclaimed as he motioned toward Leynn and then himself.

Tekki removed a water barrel from his mount after sheathing his daggers and then lugged it over to the gnome. Setting it down, he spoke. "Here's something for you to do!" He chuckled to himself as he moved to get another barrel to fill.

The warlock simply stared at the barrel, as it was bigger than he was. "There's no way I can fill that thing up!" He wrapped his arms around the barrel and lifted it up. "I won't be able to pick it up once its full!"

"I think that was the joke." I smiled down at him and then moved to take the barrel. "Fill up the water skins instead." I then made my way to the water, barrel in hand.

Once all the barrels and water skins were filled and loaded, I began skinning the raptors and cutting their meat. We wrapped the meat up, planning to eat it that night, and I packed the hides onto the back of my own mount. Once I was finished, everyone got back onto their basilisks. I was now feeling well enough to ride by myself again, but Daedren hitched a ride with Leynn. I suppose he didn't want to deal with Tekki's rudeness anymore. Once we were all ready, we headed north once again, in the direction of the smoke.

After riding a bit, Kana spoke within my mind. "Figure it out yet?"

I had been thinking to myself, so he startled me a bit. I looked down at the lion walking alongside my basilisk and responded mentally. "Perhaps because Tekki has no skill in determining a sensitive subject before _stomping_ on someone's toes?"

He laughed a bit before responding, so I knew I was wrong. "No, but once again that is part of it." The albino shook off some loose fur and continued. "You've got everything except the main issue figured out."

"There isn't anything else that I can see!" I let out a small sigh.

"Maybe not that you can see, but it is there. He hides it well."

"Who hides what well?" I turned my body a bit so my neck wouldn't hurt so much from looking down at Kana.

"You'll figure it out." Was his last reply as he jumped onto the back of my basilisk, apparently tired of walking.

The creature spooked a bit, hissing and teetering in protest. "Are you alright back there?" Tekki was turned sideways, looking back at me.

I calmed my mount down and responded. "Yeah. Kana jumped up with me without warning, but I have it under control now."

The rogue nodded, and returned his gaze to the terrain ahead.

* * *

"Everyone, look alive!" Tekki shouted back at us, startling us out of our daydreams. "We're nearing some tar pits. Watch your basilisk's footing or you'll lose your mount and supplies!"

Instinctively, I tightened my grip on my reins. "Relax, Shina." Kana was speaking to me mentally. "Stressing out will hinder your ability to react." He yawned, and tickled my sides with his tail.

I smiled a bit and then took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. My basilisk stumbled and I panicked. I then realized that it had simply tripped on a rock and we hadn't even reached the tar pits yet.

Basketius was laughing lightly, looking over at me. "Calm down sweetie, you'll be fine."

We wound slowly around the black pools, still making our way to the smoke rising in the distance. The large feet of our riding basilisks stuck to the ground in spots, making suction and sloshing sounds as they pulled them free. Black pools of bubbling ooze surrounded our pathway, a peril that we needed to avoid at all costs, yet a cover and protector from other creatures that might wish us harm. No animal would willingly venture forth into the tar pits, so we were safe from any attack of that kind. We did eventually make it safely through the black pools, and stopped where a small path began.

The path led up a large hill too steep for us to see what was on the other side, or even what was at the top. Smoke rose from over the hill, the very same smoke we'd been following. "It seems this area has been well-traveled lately." Tekki instructed his mount to continue toward and up the path.

"Makes me uneasy." Leynn stated, moving behind the rogue.

The rest of us reluctantly followed.

About halfway up the hill, an alarm began to sound. Soon after, two goblins clad in heavy armor ran down to confront us. "Halt!" One of the goblins shouted at us. "Who are you?"

"Knight-Champion Tekki," He motioned toward himself and then to me."Knight-Lieutenant Shina, and crew." The rogue motioned toward everyone else as he finished.

"We were not informed of your coming arrival." The second goblin spoke now.

"The human king sent us to check on and aid the camp here in Un'Goro due to a disruption in communication." He held out his hand toward me and turned his head to look my way. "Do you have the order, Shina?"

"Oh, yes!" I quickly turned in my saddle and dug around in the bag strapped to my mount's side. I pulled out several wrong documents before finding the king's order and handing it off to Tekki.

He took it and bowed his head to me as a thank you. Turning back around, he held out the order to show the goblins. One of the two edged closer and read it while the other gripped at his sword. "It's valid." The two goblins stood back after this was proclaimed and saluted our company with respect. "Welcome to Marshal's Refuge!"

Tekki beamed a smile and looked back at us. "Step one of the king's mission, complete. We've arrived at our destination!"

* * *

Our provisions were replenished and unpacked quickly, stored in crates nearby a small grouping of tents that the camp leaders had set up for us. For the first time in almost a week, we were in safe surroundings and able to rest and relax. As I laid back on my rolled-out sleeping bag in the tent I shared with Leynn, Kana peered inside. "Shina, are you awake?" The lion edged forward as he waited for an answer.

"Yes, Kana." I yawned and continued my mental message. "I just got settled though."

"I'm sorry, but I needed to talk to you before you met with the camp leader tomorrow." He moved toward me and stretched out beside me.

"Talk to me about what?" I sat halfway up, leaning toward the albino.

He moved his head to look into my eyes. "I sense something terrible in this land..."

"Something terrible?" I sat up the rest of the way. "We already know of the Horde raid headed for Theramore."

"No, something far worse plots against us." He rested his head on his paws. "Be prepared for the worst, Shina. Now rest, you shall need your strength."

I gave a light pat on the lion's head and then stretched back out and let sleep take me.

* * *

I didn't sleep very well due to the worry Kana's warning brought to my dreams, but my body still received some much needed rest. When I awoke, I laid awake and waited for the others to stir. Having taken a break, my body now screamed with the aches and pains of the last week. I let out a small moan and stretched out my shoulders, which seemed to be cramping together, sore from me repeatedly swinging my weapons during our journey through the desert.

After twenty minutes or so, Leynn sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes. She then made a disgusted face and looked over at me, apparently aware of the fact that I was awake. "They're cooking meat..." Leynn proclaimed as she got to her feet and began dressing.

"Ooh, finally cooking that raptor meat, are they?" I was extremely hungry, but my sense of smell was not as keen as the druid's. My heightened senses were a result of my mind link with Kana, who was still sound asleep on the floor beside me. So, I was unable to smell the cooking meat myself and envied Leynn for the moment.

"Probably – disgusting stuff, meat is! I hope they remember to lay out some fruits for me." The druid finished getting ready, grabbed her staff, and left the tent in search of breakfast.

I let out a heavy sigh. "I should probably get Kana up and go eat as well..." I began to sit up, my muscles screaming in protest. "Oh, I'm so sore. Kana, get up and let's go eat!"

I nudged the cat's shoulder and his eyes slowly opened. A sudden waif of senses engulfed me, filling my nostrils with the wonderful smell of roasting meat. I could also now hear the clanging of kitchen utensils off in the distance.

Kana lifted his head and let out a yawn as he turned his gaze toward me. "I trust you slept well, Shina?" He got to his feet, now taller than me since I was sitting.

"Not at all. That warning you gave me last night brought nightmares!" I gave his head a gentle pat and then stood, moving to start dressing for the day.

"My apologies, perhaps I should have waited until morning." Kana sat down by the tent's door, patiently waiting for me to dress. "Sometimes I forget that your nights have recently been riddled with terror."

I fastened my belt around my waist, now ready for the day. "It doesn't matter, what's done is done." I motioned toward the door. "You first, Kana; I don't know where we're going, so just follow your nose!"

With that, he darted out the door toward the scent with me close behind.

* * *

The lion led me to a large grouping of tables, most of which were full with both food and knights. Only two tables had magic-based fighters seated at them, half of which were healers. "This raid is not properly equipped for battle." Kana looked up at me as he spoke mentally.

"Where are all the warlocks, mages, and shadow priests? You can't win a battle with melee fighters alone!" I was looking around, hoping to find a few groups of casters that I'd overlooked.

"The horde shall win this fight, I am almost certain of it." Kana stood in silence for a moment after his statement.

I sighed and headed toward the cooking tent where the food was being handed out. However, before I received any food, I noticed that my group was sitting separate from everyone else and changed course to join them. They were roasting the raptor meat from the previous day over a small fire, rotating it on a skewer. I took a big whiff of the aroma wafting through the air. "That smells wonderful."

"It will be done soon." Leynn was eating an apple. "I don't see how you can stand to eat that stuff though."

"Just because you're disgusted by meat doesn't mean everyone else is." I faught my aching muscles to sit in the grass beside Basketius.

The druid took a final bite from her apple and set the core aside. "I have more respect for nature than that." She reached for an orange as she finished speaking.

Daedren chuckled at her comment. "If we didn't eat it, something else would have!"

"Something of nature." She glared at the warrior.

I reached for the meat, ripped off a piece, and tossed it to Kana. "There, happy? The raptor's natural enemy is now eating it." I smirked when I finished.

Leynn remained silent, now peeling her orange, and the rest of us began to chat as we waited for breakfast to finish cooking.

* * *

With our bellies full, our group made its way to meet with the camp military commander and the expedition leaders. The tent we met in was the largest and everyone else had already arrived. "Knight-Champion Tekki!" A human clad in fancy armor and an Alliance tabard saluted the rogue as he spoke. "It's a pleasure to meet you! And your friends are...?"

Tekki saluted, returning the greeting, and then introduced us. "This is Knight-Lieutenant Shina, Leynn, Daedren, and Basketius." He turned sideways as he spoke, motioning to each of us in turn.

"I understand that you are an investigation team sent by the king due to the communications disturbance?" The human knight moved to the opposite side of the large table that was sitting in the middle of the tent.

I stepped forward. "Yes, sir." Motioning toward Kana, I continued. "Before we get into the main subject matter, I wanted to inform you of a great evil that my lion has sensed."

"We are already aware of the growing horde army near Terror Run." He rolled out a map and pointed to the area he spoke of.

"Yes, but Kana senses a far greater evil that threatens us." Kana moved to sit beside me and I gently stroked his mane.

"So, we are to trust this... animal in such a perilous time?" The human raised a brow, clearly unimpressed and full of disbelief.

"I trust Kana with my life, sir." I kept a strait face, moving my hand to scratch the lion's ear.

The Marshal lowered his head, looking down at the map. "Very well. Commander, your troop will join the rest of the army to confront the Horde."

A dwarf standing nearby, clad in full chain mail, saluted. "Yes, sir!"

Standing, the human continued. "Knight-Champion Tekki, your group will sneak 'round the Horde defenses to investigate the possibility of an enemy base – or this great evil Shina speaks of."

Tekki sighed, but agreed. "Very well, we shall move around to the back."

"You are dismissed." The Marshal sat down, motioning with his hand for us to leave.

We made our way out of the large tent and toward our own. "Well, that was an utter waste of time..." Leynn crossed her arms as she spoke. "He didn't tell us anything we didn't already know!"

"That's usually all you ever get from those in charge" Tekki shifted his tunic, straitening it.

"We'd better pack and repair anyway." Basketius was examining a crack in his staff. "We have work to do."

I peered out over toward the valley, worried about the coming presence Kana had sensed. My subconscious was screaming in terror; something about this place didn't sit right on my mind.

* * *

Our weapons were repaired and our armor patched within the hour. The Alliance army had already begun to organize, awaiting commands from the Commander and Marshal. Needing to be fully prepared for battle, our riding basilisks were replaced with mounts that we had more skill controlling. Tekki received a Stormsaber, black as the night sky while Leynn and I were given Frostsabers; her mount was white with black spots trailing its face and backside, while my mount was white with black stripes. Daedren and Basketius received horses, both sturdy war stallions of the lightest russet color. However, Basketius was not pleased with his animal. "We're going to war! A warlock needs a stronger mount than that!" He moved away from the horse, crouching and holding his arms out with the palms of his hands facing upward.

Mumbling strange demonic words, he began to cast a spell. His eyes grew bright, and magical fire began to engulf his palms. The spell was complete when he finished speaking, and the ground began to rumble. The patch of grass in front of the gnome suddenly burst into flames, burning quickly down to the dirt and then extinguishing. Afterward, more flames burst up from the ground, taking the form of a horse. The flames died down, and an ash-colored stallion with blazing red eyes stood before the warlock. Flames blazed from its hooves and tail, a true nightmare of a horse it was. "Now, that's a horse!" The gnome proclaimed, getting ready to saddle it.

"Wow... It's a bit scary." I stepped back a bit, afraid that it might go off in a rage at any moment. "Are you sure you can handle that thing?"

"Of course I can! It's just like any other summoned demon." He saddled it, with much difficulty, and attempted to mount.

"If you say so..." I turned my attention back to my own mount, climbing up onto its back with ease, and waited for Kana to jump up behind me.

Leynn, Daedren, and Tekki all mounted before Basketius, and we all waited for the gnome to struggle up onto his frightful monstrosity. "Having a little trouble there, Basketcase?" Daedren beamed a smile, chuckling a bit to himself.

"Shut up!" He jumped, pulling himself up quickly with the reins. "There!"

Strangely, the horse had no objections to the sudden yank on its reins and stood obediently. I clapped lightly, fighting back a laugh. "Good job, honey. Maybe it won't take you ten minutes next time."

He glared at me and kicked his steed's sides, directing him toward the gathering army. The rest of us followed, fully geared and ready for battle.

* * *

We took our places at the front of the army, awaiting the order to move around to investigate. The Grand Marshal in charge trotted up beside Tekki sooner than expected. "Knight-Champion Tekki, is your group prepared?"

"Yes, sir; fed, rested, and ready to ride." The rogue saluted as he began to speak. "We await your command."

"Very good, I need your group to head out toward the Golakka Hot Springs and make your way to the back of the Horde army that way." He pointed toward the southwest. "I'll send the army out shortly after to keep the enemy's attention on us and not you." The Marshal directed his mount back to the army.

"Well, you heard the man." Tekki turned around in his saddle to face us. "Let's move out!"


	6. Charging the Tower

**Forsaken Flames**

A World of Warcraft Fan-Fiction

**Charging the Tower**

The heat of the hot springs added to the already humid warmth of the air and made our trek much more difficult than it should have been. My breath was heavy and I had already begun to sweat beneath my armor. Kana seemed unaffected, having already shed most of his heavy fur coat while in the desert. Daedren, however, looked a bit woozy, his plate armor most likely trapping steam within. I didn't worry about him though; traveling through the springs didn't take long.

I motioned for the group to stop and Leynn shouted ahead to Tekki, who was oblivious to the danger I'd pointed out. A diemetradon was creeping slowly across the ground, dragging its massive weight forward with the incredible strength of its stubby legs, just far enough away from us that its poor vision didn't alert it to our presence. The rogue looked up a few steps too late, as he had entered the dinosaur's range of vision and caught his attention. The huge creature lifted its weight and charged toward the night elf with seemingly little effort. Tekki lept down from his mount and jumped to the side to keep the monster from injuring his ride. "A little help here?"

I quickly dropped down off my mount and ran at the beast, unsheathing my axe and sword as I drew near. Leynn muttered a few words to herself, summoning forth a pillar of concentrated moonlight energies to strike the creature. "Moonfire!"

The creature groaned loudly with pain and anguish, turning toward the druid. This gave me a perfect target and I took advantage of the distraction. I jumped up, thrusting my axe down between its eyes with all my strength, as well as the added force of my weight. The dinosaur's skull gave way, allowing the sharp blade to penetrate the soft brain tissue beyond. Another hiss and groan followed the strike, and then the monster fell to the ground with a rather loud thud.

It took some work to retrieve my weapon, as the blade was nearly buried within the creature's skull, but I eventually worked it free and wiped the blood and brains off in the grass. I sheathed my weapons once again and turned my attention toward the rogue. "Pay attention! You're going to get us all killed!"

"Sorry, I was thinking..." Tekki heaved himself back up onto his Stormsaber.

"This is a war, we need you focused and ready for battle." I pulled myself back up into my saddle as well. "You can daydream later."

He nodded, his expression one of pain and shame, and continued southward, now completely silent.

* * *

Our quiet trek was interrupted as Daedren pointed off into the distance and nearly shouted his statement. "Look! Is that a tower?"

Leynn looked up, stopping her mount. "That didn't used to be there."

"Perhaps its an enemy base..." The warlock was now stopped, staring up at the structure in complete awe.

"Should we continue to the back of the army, or change course to investigate the tower?" I maneuvered my mount to stop beside Tekki's as I spoke.

Kana suddenly darted off ahead of us, running with all his might in the direction of the giant tower. He didn't stop for even a moment, speaking within my mind and expecting me to comply without a discussion. "Follow me, Shina! I can sense the evil we spoke of!"

I kicked my Frostsaber's sides, taking off after Kana and shouting back to the group. "He senses the evil he warned me about!"

"We're right behind you!" Basketius shouted ahead to me as he and the rest of the group began to follow.

* * *

We hid behind a grouping of rocks once we were within shooting distance of the tower. A small group of orc guards was clustered together, blocking the entrance to the massive structure. "How do we get inside?" I nudged Basketius and whispered.

"Tekki could sneak in and create a diversion." The gnome looked over at the rogue as he spoke.

"Or I could run up in bear form and lead them away." Leynn chimed in, leaning forward a bit as if to prepare herself.

"I'll go with you." Daedren unsheathed his sword and removed his shield from his back.

Tekki began to move out. "I'm still sneaking in, but I'm going to see if I can uncover any secret information." His form wavered and he soon disappeared.

Leynn closed her eyes and began casting her transformation spell. Dark brown fur soon started to sprout from her skin and her bones grew slowly in size. Her elven face elongated, her mouth becoming a muzzle. Cracking, like the breaking and twisting of bones, rang quietly through the air as her elven shape changed and shifted into that of a bear. She was soon fully transformed into a massive grizzly bear, standing over all of us with overwhelming stature. Letting forth a loud growl, she darted out toward the tower gate with as much speed as was possible. The orc guards immediately drew their weapons, fighting back as the powerful druid tried to maul them. Once she had them chasing her into the forest, Daedren ran through the trees in her direction to aide her.

"Well, let's go." I motioned for Kana to lead, as he did without hesitation. Basketius and I soon followed, weapons drawn and spells at the ready.

The gate remained shut, though the lever to open it was in clear view on the other side. "How are we going to get through?" I examined the bars more closely after I'd spoken. "There's no way we can bust the gate down, it would cause far too much noise, and I doubt we're strong enough anyway."

"Easy." The gnome handed his staff to me, turned sideways, and slowly squeezed through the bars. "Just like that." He walked over and pulled the lever, releasing the gate lock. "Sometimes it's good to be small..."

I chuckled, walking through the now open gateway, and gave his staff back to him. "Yet you complain about it all the time."

"Well, wouldn't you?" He looked up to stare me in the eye.

"I suppose I would." I smirked, and motioned for us to continue.

We could hear the footsteps of several more guards in rooms close by, so we used caution while exploring the tower. I kept my eyes open for anything suspicious as we searched through the room we now found ourselves standing in. "It's upstairs. Direct Basketius to keep watch; he's too loud – incapable of a stealthy entrance." Kana spoke within my mind, moving forward slowly toward the beginning of the large spiral staircase at the far side of the room.

"Honey, uh... You should probably keep watch near the gate, just in case. Kana and I are going upstairs." I moved to follow Kana, but hesitated a moment more. "That way, you can warn me if any guards are headed upstairs."

"Alright, but I'm going to look around a bit down here while I'm at it." The gnome looked up at me and his facial expression let me know that he was aware of my lie.

I sighed and then returned to my original move to follow the lion. He was fast and silent, making it almost impossible to keep up without making too much noise. "You need to practice your hunting run a bit more, you're a little rusty." The albino taunted me mentally as we climbed the staircase.

"I'm running on stone, not grass! What more do you want from me?" I smirked slightly as I gave my mental response.

Suddenly, Kana darted sideways into a small room to our left. I followed him, having picked up the noise that startled him through the use of our bond. His delicate and powerful lion ears had tuned in to a conversation between two people that were headed downstairs. "The ritual is nearly complete. All that is missing is the blood of a thousand warriors!" The rough and scratchy voice of a man spoke, chuckled, and then continued. "That fool sent us an entire army to slaughter. Their blood will be the final key to releasing our master!"

A woman's voice joined in the conversation. "Should we be leaving the soul shard behind?"

"It must stay at the alter to be ready for the summoning the very instant the final drop of blood is spilled." He snapped back at her.

"Forgive me, sir. I was simply worried about the safety of the channeling device." She paused for a moment and then continued. "The Lich King's soul was rather difficult to acquire, after all."

"I understand your concern, but you need not question my decisions." His voice was stern and full of confidence.

Silence fell between the two of them as they passed by the room Kana and I were hiding in. I turned toward the lion and spoke within his mind. "We need to steal that shard, and stop the marshal's army!"

"No, we must steal and protect the shard. The horde must still be stopped." Kana returned my gaze, and nodded. "From what I've gathered, the evil cannot be unleashed without the soul shard, so the war will pose no threat to preventing it." He moved toward the door as he finished speaking.

I opened the door and he darted out, continuing up the stairs. I followed close behind, my palms resting on the handles of my blades.

* * *

The room we entered at the top of the stairs was dimly lit by the magical blue flame of four torches hung at each corner. Bones and blood littered the floor, filling the air with the musty stench of death. A large statue of a demon stood at the far end of the room with a small alter in front of it. The floor below the alter was covered in runic symbols, and a bowl sat on top of it with a small, glowing pink object inside. "There!"

I stepped up to the alter, careful not to set off any traps that might have been set, and retrieved the soul shard. It was a dark pink, unlike most soul shards that had a purple hue, and was warm to the touch. Slipping it into my coin pouch, I turned to head back downstairs. Kana slowly moved out onto the staircase, his fur standing on end. "This place greatly disturbs me."

"I don't blame you, this place _is _crawling with Horde, after all." I patted the lion's head as I passed him on my way to the hallway.

The lion sniffed around a bit as we made our way down the stone staircase. "That's not why I'm uneasy. Something here is just not right somehow."

Kana stopped, his ears perking up as he turned his head to look up the stairs. "Footsteps."

Using my link with the lion, I listened in to hear the footsteps behind us. I looked around frantically and then whispered to the albino. "There's nowhere to hide here!"

A deep voice shouted at us in orcish, and I knew we were caught. We ran down the staircase and ducked into the first empty room we came upon, hoping to buy some time. I knelt down to the lion's level, holding out the soul shard as I spoke. "Kana, hide this!"

"Hide it where? I don't have any pockets, Shina!" The albino growled softly with annoyance. "I don't wear clothes!"

"I know, Kana, but if they find it, it's game over, and you know they'll search me for it!" I moved the shard closer to him.

He growled again, eyeing the shard. "You want me to eat it, don't you?"

My only response was a nervous smile.

The lion hesitantly stepped forward, sniffed the shard, and then quickly lapped it up with his tongue. He swallowed it with haste and then spoke. "You owe me, Shina. There's a human soul in my stomach!"

Suddenly, the door to the room violently swung open. A tall, olive-skinned orc filled the doorway, sword drawn. He spoke in that horrible language, moving forward to grab me. I drew my sword and axe, determined not to go down without a fight. He swung his sword down upon me with tremendous force, which I blocked with the use of both my weapons. It took all my strength to block the force of only one of his arms. He then took advantage of the fact that I was completely open for attack, swinging his left arm up to punch me in the gut. I doubled over, unable to breathe, and he lifted his sword again. Kana then lept into action, pouncing the orc and sinking his teeth into the monster's shoulder. The orc grunted, wavering in his stance, but he regained his footing and threw the lion off of him. Kana tumbled as he fell to the ground, hitting the wall and roaring with pain. I now had the orc's full attention, and he decided not to kill me, striking me over the head with the blunt end of his sword instead.

My world quickly went black.

* * *

I awoke in a dark room, and a terrible smell was wafting through the air. It stank of death and rotten flesh. I stood up, realized that I was chained to the wall behind me, and then panicked. The feeling I had was familiar; my nightmare was becoming a reality. Tears began to slowly roll down my cheeks in tiny droplets, and I spoke quietly to myself. "I've been captured! I can't believe the sheer strength that orc possessed; I should have been able to beat him!"

My sadness soon turned into anger and rage. I snarled in frustration, shaking and tugging on the chains that bound my arms. "Damned Horde!" I kicked, but was jolted back by my ankle chains.

Eventually, I calmed down and relaxed, allowing silence to engulf my prison. The darkness dulled my senses and I lost track of time all together. I had no idea how much time might have passed before I heard the voice. "Shina? Is that you?"

It was a man's voice, and I recognized it immediately. "Tekki?"

A small yellow fire wavered into view; the rogue was now unstealthed and I could see his one remaining eye. "I'm glad I found you, I heard they're planning to kill you!" He slowly made his way across the room.

A set of small yellow fires made themselves visible behind the rogue. "Tekki, behind you!"

He grunted in pain, having been warned too late, and a second grunt soon followed. I heard a light thud and wet coughing afterward. "Shina... I..." Another burst of coughs interrupted his attempt at a final sentence, and the last yellow fire of his extinguished forever.

"Tekki? Answer me! Tekki?" My frantic cries received no response from the rogue, but rather induced chuckling from the rough voice of another man.

I thrust myself against the force of the chains holding me backward, screaming at my friend's attacker. "You bastard!"

The man then spoke some strange words from a language I had only heard in my dream. Instantly, the torches lining the walls were lit with magical fire and I was able to see. My gaze first fell upon my fallen friend, who was doubled over in a puddle of his own blood with a sword stabbed deep into his back. The man who had killed him was now approaching me. I was afraid to look up at him, knowing what I'd find, but I did so anyway.

The man wore dark green robes, torn and tattered, and held a skull engulfed in green fire within the grip of his left hand. His right hand was holding a staff, which was carved and decorated so that a snake head held an emerald in its mouth. His flesh was rotten and peeling from his bones, revealing the putrid inner workings of his chest. He had no eyes; two small yellow fires blazed forth from his otherwise empty sockets. This horrible creature was the very man from my nightmare.

Instantly, I froze in fear, unable to accept both the death of my friend and perhaps my own. I was unable to move as he drew his face close and gazed into my eyes. He spoke, breathing foul air into my face. "Tell me, or perish."

At first, I was unable to summon forth any words, but I mustered up the strength to stand against him. "You'll kill me either way."

He smirked. "Indeed I shall. However, you have the choice to make it quick and painless."

I spit in his face.

"Very well, have it your way." He turned, walking out of the room.

I was doomed.


	7. A Friend in Need

**Forsaken Flames**

A World of Warcraft Fan-Fiction

**A Friend in Need**

The torches that lit my prison still burned, and I decided to use my seemingly endless supply of time to examine my cell. I scanned the room slowly, skipping over the corpse of my late friend that still remained slumped over near the door. The room was circular, the walls and floor made of cold stone. There were no windows, only one iron door directly across from where I remained bound. Small piles of hay were carelessly gathered in clumps around the cell, bones and rotten flesh mixed in with the damp bedding. I only guessed the mounds of hay to be bedding because a similar pile surrounded me, close enough that I could rest my feet by sitting, but far enough away that my chains prevented me from resting my head. The chains that restrained me were thick – far too thick for me to break in my weakened state. There was no possible way for me to escape on my own, and I had been unable to reach Kana's mind. I was worried and frightened, both for the life of my closest companion, and for my own.

I sighed, giving up all hope for escape, and slumped to my knees. My neck and shoulders ached from the prolonged position of having my arms over my head. The pain in my shoulders was interrupted only by a quick pain in my stomach. I was hungry, nearly starving. "Hello?" I shouted toward the door. "If you don't feed your prisoners, they tend to die before you get any information out of them!"

My cries received no answer.

I had no idea how long I'd been there, but the wails of my stomach had me guessing the amount by days and not by hours. Another angry growl roared forth from my gut, protesting the lack of nourishment. "Don't talk to me like that!" I was speaking to my stomach. "It's not _my _fault!"

I had nearly snapped. "By the Light!" Looking up at the ceiling, I continued. "I'm talking to my organs! Get a hold on yourself, Shina!"

Silence once again engulfed my prison, leaving me to my unspoken thoughts. My mind wandered, spreading the worry I had for Kana's life to the lives of my other friends out on the battlefield. When my mind spoke Basketius' name, I cringed in emotional pain. What if he fell during battle? I wouldn't be there to help him – to save him. I never got to say goodbye, never got the chance to tell him how I really felt.

A loud blast, followed by orcish screams and the smell of burning flesh, interrupted my thoughts. The screaming quickly ceased and I could hear the faint echo of voices. "This is the last door, she has to be in here."

The voice was familiar, and I whispered to myself in disbelief. "Basketius?"

"Stand back." Daedren's stern voice was muffled, but coherent.

I listened intently, not sure if I had imagined what I'd heard, and was startled by the loud thud against the door that soon followed. There was a pause, and then four more thuds followed the first, the large iron door groaning in protest with each one. One final blow to the door ripped it from its hinges and the mangled mass of iron fell to the floor with a clang.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Daedren was crouched in attack position, with shield in hand, having been the one to bust down the door. Basketius was standing behind him, his left hand still clenched in a fist and engulfed in the fire from his previous spell.

Tears began to slowly fall down my cheeks as I choked up a few words. "Thank the Light you're here!"

The warlock's gaze immediately locked with mine, assuring me that all would soon be well. However, his eyes wandered down to the corpse that was slumped over in front of the broken iron door, and his expression changed to one of shock and horror. "Are you alright?" His voice was shaky.

"I'm fine, just weak from hunger." The tears of relief had changed to tears of grief. "Tekki tried to save me..."

Basketius and Daedren swiftly made their way across the room, going strait to work on my chains. "I wish I'd brought you some extra armor. Guarding you is going to be rather difficult with you wearing _that._"

I looked down at myself, not having been concerned with my outfit until now, and realized that I wasn't wearing anything other than my cloth under armor. Even my feet were bare. "Sorry, but prisoners of war don't usually get to choose their wardrobe."

"I know, sweetie." He was casting a fire spell on my ankle chains. "Just thinking out loud."

Daedren broke through my wrist chains and I fell forward, not realizing until then that they were what was keeping me upright. Once Basketius had undone my ankle restraints, I rolled over to sit down and look at the two of them. "It feels so good to be able to put my arms down!"

"I'd imagine." Daedren held out a hand to help me to my feet. "You've been like that for over a week."

Disbelief set itself within my expression as I stared at the warrior. "What? A week!"

"We can talk later, we need to get you out of here first." He set me up, waiting to see if I could stand on my own. "Can you walk?"

I nodded, willing myself forward. Daedren walked beside me, seeming unsure of my wobbly steps, while Basketius led the way. It was hard to keep up with the gnome; my muscles were screaming due to lack of use, but I was determined to get out of that horrible place.

When we left the room, my eyes immediately fell to gaze upon the fresh orc corpses strewn about the hallway. Their bodies were so horribly burned by the warlock's magical fire that they were nearly unidentifiable; I only knew the mangled bodies to be orcs due to the screams I'd heard before I was freed. Some sick part of me took pleasure in the sight, glad for their deaths. I shook the thought from my mind immediately, scolding myself for giving in to the want for revenge.

The halls were completely void of guards, smoldering corpses taking their places at each post. A strong smell of burning flesh choked at my senses, forcing me to breathe through my mouth as we made our way down the huge spiral staircase. The gnome was pushing corpses out of the walkway with his staff, and I was grateful for the clear path. He looked back at me after pushing a particularly messy body our of the way. "Sorry about the smell. It was... unavoidable."

"That's what happens when you're outnumbered." Daedren grabbed my arm to steady me as I slipped on a small puddle of blood.

We soon reached the bottom of the stairwell, entering into the main gate chamber. The sun was shining brightly through the bars of the exit, which was now closed and preventing our escape. A small platoon of orcs and trolls was stationed outside the tower, and I realized why Basketius was concerned with my attire. "We have to fight our way home."

The warrior nodded at my statement, drawing his sword. "We had to fight our way in as well."

"Why didn't you wait until after the battle to come get me?" I was weary, malnourished, and still recovering from the brink of insanity – nowhere near being in any condition to fight.

Basketius stepped forward toward the lever that opened the gate. "We did. The Alliance army has retreated to Theramore."

I stared at him in disbelief. Kana was right; the Alliance army had failed. The thought of my companion brought another question to mind. "Where's Kana?"

"We left him with what remained of our forces – he was injured and needed a healer's attention." Daedren gave me a quick glance and then returned his gaze to the platoon of horde beyond the gate. "They took him to Theramore."

"Let's go." The gnome pulled the lever, releasing the gate's lock, and then raised his staff to cast a spell.

He spoke in demonic, the tip of his staff gathering hellish energies as he chanted. Once he finished the cantrip, he pointed the staff's end at the platoon, holding it there as the skies above them darkened. One of the orcs in front shouted angrily in their horrible language, charging forward with the rest of the force close behind. However, they only managed a few steps before the warlock's spell took effect.

Fire rained down from the dark clouds above the platoon, consuming flesh, armor, and weapons without discrimination. However, the unnatural blaze did not spread through the grasses, but only from contact between soldiers. I stood, amazed and horrified, and watched as our enemies seemed to melt and dissolve in groups. The platoon was reduced to less than half its original size before the warlock's spell finally came to an end. Many of those that remained among the living were too wounded to do battle and were left behind by the few who were not touched by the fires or had escaped with minor burns. The force that now faced us was much less intimidating.

Daedren charged forward, running out of the tower toward the nearest of the soldiers. He struck the orc down with a quick swipe across the chest and moved onward. Basketius followed slowly, launching bolts of shadow and fire at the enemy soldiers as he walked. He looked back at me after his third kill and shouted. "Stay there, you'll be safe."

I obeyed the gnome's command at first, remaining within the tower where the only threat was the queasiness brought on by the smell of burning flesh wafting down the stairs. However, the soldier within me soon gave in to the blood lust of the battlefield and I rushed forward to claim the armor and weapon of a fallen orc. The sword was massive, forcing me to wield it with both hands, and the armor was loose, though I did not expect the chain mail to hinder me. Now armed and protected, I rushed forward to join the battle. The gnome was holding his own, beating the orc and troll soldiers back with little difficulty. Daedren, however, was having trouble keeping the horde soldiers from closing in on him. Their sheer numbers, coupled with the warrior's lack of magic, proved to be too much for him.

After assessing the situation and coming to this conclusion, I made my way over to aid the human. Luck was with me as I thrust my borrowed sword into an orc's back just as he had lifted his own to strike Daedren down from behind. The orc grunted loudly before falling to the ground sideways as I pushed him out of the way to speak to the warrior. "I've got your back."

He turned his head after slaying the troll attacker in front of him, eyeing the orc's corpse. "Thanks, I owe you one."

I smiled. "Let's call it even." After decapitating another soldier, I tilted my head to say more. "Basketius is going to be furious with me though." I moved with my back to the human as I finished.

"I'm a bit angry with you myself." The sound of clanging swords echoed through the air, followed by the thud of a heavy corpse. "You're not equipped for battle."

I couldn't help but smirk, knowing that Daedren was fully aware of my competence on the battlefield. He was poking fun at the way I was dressed. "I know." My smirk widened into a grin. "This armor doesn't even match!"

A chuckle rang through the air. "I missed you, Shina. Basketius wasn't very good company during your absence." The dying grunts of another troll were suddenly cut short.

"He probably expected me to be dead." I thrust my sword down, slashing deep across the chest of another attacker.

"Yeah, he did." The warrior suddenly grew serious.

Silence fell between us, leaving the sounds of our fighting to be all that rang through the windless air. I stabbed another troll through the heart, retrieving my sword quickly to slay an orc trying to take advantage of my weaponless moment. Having cleared a small space around myself, I risked a quick glance over to Basketius. The warlock was now making his way over to where we stood, leaving a smoldering path of ash and burning flesh in his wake. I returned my gaze to my own fight, swinging my sword to slash at the throat of another foe. "Basketius is headed our way."

"I noticed." Two loud clangs ripped through the air, followed by a scream. "He's getting much better at his magics."

I smiled as a memory of the gnome on fire crept to the front of my mind. "Remember when his spells would backfire?"

He chuckled loudly after cutting down another soldier. "Those were good times."

A blaze of fire billowed over several orcs, devouring their flesh within seconds. "Reminiscing, are we?" Basketius shot a bolt of shadow at a troll beside him, and the creature seemed to wilt before him.

"Your spells are a bit horrific now." My sword cut swiftly through more flesh and bone.

He took his place beside us, and we now found ourselves forming a triangle. "Your spine-severing strength is intimidating."

"Why is that?" Daedren chimed in after decapitating another orc.

"I'm a caster. Your strength is a bit intimidating to me as well." The smell of burning flesh strengthened.

After stabbing an orc through the heart, the warrior continued. "No, I mean why is Shina so strong?" Another clang rang through the air. "She's a hunter, who usually specialize in speed and accuracy."

"I studied as a knight in Darnassus." My sword met the flesh of another foe. "Originally, I had planned to become a warrior."

"A warrior, eh?" I could hear the human's smile within his voice.

I shared his smile for a moment, but it quickly faded from my lips. "They exiled me when I announced my belief in the Light, and not their goddess Elune."

The final orc fell beneath my blade.

I turned to face my friends, but found that their backs were to me. Their attention was fixed on a figure standing in the middle of the field, blocking our escape. I looked closely at the person standing in our way and realized that it was a woman. She was equipped with two spiked maces and clad in heavy plate and mail armor, dyed with the darkest of blues that could easily have been mistaken for black. Her face was hidden beneath her helm, the eyes glowing orange, but I could somehow still tell that she was staring at me in particular. Spikes decorated the joint pieces of her gear, the most prominent of which were sticking out of her shoulder pieces. I looked over at Basketius after getting a good look at her. "Was she here earlier?"

"No." He paused, biting at his lip. "She seems to have come out of nowhere."

"She's a warrior. I'd know that stance anywhere." Daedren shifted his weight to prepare for another fight. "She's too balanced to be a berserker, but she doesn't have a shield either."

I frowned. "So she's not a protector or a berserker. She's both – arms."

The warlock nodded in agreement. "I haven't faced a good arms warrior in a long time."

"Let's hope she's not an expert, or we could be in some serious trouble." After I'd finished speaking, I lifted my sword in preparation.

A loud chuckle echoed across the field. The woman had apparently found our conversation amusing. The angry and disrespectful growl that had then escaped from my lips surprised even me. Basketius looked at me in amazement, and I suddenly felt embarrassed. There was no time for such feelings though; the woman had begun charging toward us with unbelievable speed after hearing my battle cry. Daedren and I barely had time to get out of the way, but the warlock wasn't so lucky.

He grunted loudly as she rammed into him, her elbow extended to catch his face. Basketius staggered backward a few steps, disoriented, before falling to the ground. The woman towered above him, staring down at the gnome in a non-threatening manner. "Unimportant."

Her attention then shifted to Daedren and myself, and she was once again moving with incredible swiftness. A mace soared through the air toward Daedren's face and the warrior blocked the deadly blow with his shield. The reinforced iron cracked under the force of the woman's swing, leaving Daedren's shield completely useless. He jumped back, tossing the shield aside and drawing a second sword from its sheath on his belt. A bloodthirsty roar bellowed forth from his throat as he rushed at the woman, his eyes now wild. It was the same look he had when he'd attacked Tekki.

I ran at the arms warrior as well, determined to bring her down before any more of my friends could be harmed. Her maces made their way toward Daedren's chest, each parried by one of his swords, and I spotted a moment of weakness. With the entirety of my remaining strength, I swung my sword at her exposed side. The blade strained to slice through her armor, but it did not fail me. She screamed in pain, doubling over as her insides began to escape from the gaping wound I had ripped into her side. Daedren stood for a moment, somewhat surprised, and then moved to finish her off. His blade met the flesh of her neck, and her wails of anguish immediately ceased.

The berserker warrior stood strait once again, breathing heavily. His eyes were still wild and his muscles twitched with adrenaline. I fell to my knees, dropping my sword and leaning to rest on my arm. The rush of battle had left me and the weariness and pains of hunger had returned.

"Shina!" Basketius' voice rang through the air, carrying panic in its tone.

I raised my head to look at him, and saw shock and disbelief in his eyes. A sharp burning pain entered into my back and I let out a scream as it made its way to my chest. Looking down, I saw melting armor and seared flesh, purple with demonic energies. A shadow bolt had been thrust at me from behind.

"Shina!" The gnome was scrambling to his feet, stumbling across the field toward me. "No!"

The sound of a blade soaring through the air and then slicing through flesh and bone echoed slowly behind me.

My senses were dulling.

I could barely see now; shadows and blurred colors danced in front of me. Murmurs and muffled cries rang through the air, the voices indistinguishable by my dying ears. My thoughts became my only sight. Childhood, adolescence, adulthood – pictures began to flash across my vision. One final image stayed the longest, fading slowly as my heart crawled to a stop. My beloved gnome, my Basketius, smiled at me with love in his eyes as I took my final breath.


	8. The Twisting Nether

**Forsaken Flames**

A World of Warcraft Fan-Fiction

**The Twisting Nether**

The darkness took over, deafening and blinding me in one simple move; remove all the light – remove everything.

I no longer felt like myself. I couldn't feel my arms, or my legs – I didn't feel as if I had arms or legs anymore. No longer did I feel like Shina, or even like a night elf. I felt more free than I ever had in my life, yet I felt like a prisoner at the same time. I wasn't standing, or sitting, or even laying; I was floating. Not floating on water, or even in air, but floating through nothingness.

I drifted through the nothingness aimlessly for what seemed like an eternity, unsure that I had even moved at all. Perhaps I was floating in place, yet I had the sensation of drifting through the unknown space around me.

Then I saw it.

A single bright white light, small due to the distance it was from me, appeared and I felt compelled to move toward it. I simply thought about being near it, coming closer to the strange light, and I felt myself drifting in that direction. As I moved closer, the light split into many colors, twisting in circles upon itself. I drew ever nearer to the light and felt a stronger and stronger urge to move forward, and I suddenly realized what I was doing.

I was moving toward my death – away from my life, away from my Basketius.

With all the strength that remained in my soul, I forced myself to diverge from the path the nether wished me to follow. I broke free of its compelling voiceless pull, and floated off back into the darkness. I drifted away from the light, once again aimlessly drifting through the nothingness.

I had no idea of how I was going to get out of this place, or if an escape was even possible. Hope was my fuel for fighting the urge to move toward the light – hope that perhaps my friends would be able to bring a healer to my body before my strength faded and my soul passed through to my end. I drifted for hours, perhaps even days – if time even passes in the nether. My mind raced through images of my life, regrets and failures, blessings and happy memories; I looked over all the actions of my life and discovered that most of what I had done was for someone else. For Basketius, for Leynn, for Daedren, for Kana, the king, my brother, all of Azeroth; I hardly ever did anything for myself. I had lived a life for others, in service to Azeroth. My soul smiled at this discovery, glad that I could make the world a better place even by such a small standard.

My thoughts were interrupted when I noticed a deep blue glow. A new urge filled me, pulling me toward this new blue light. I had a different feeling with this new compulsion though – it wasn't bringing me to an end, but rather to a new beginning.


End file.
